Megaman 2
by OcelotRunner
Summary: With King Wily in custody, the future is starting to look up. But his capture only leads to a flood of personal agendas, and a chaotic hunt for The Atlas card. No one can be trusted, no one is safe.
1. The Night Things Went Bad

Chapter 1

**August 15, 2099-Washington D.C.**

He watched the drones flying their predictable patterns outside of The White House walls. According to intel, Wily should be in his workspace, in the Calligraphy Room. Same time every night.

His red boots crept, quietly, across the front lawn, carefully avoiding the buried landmines and circling eagle drones. On the southwest side of the East Wing, he located the Boiler Access. The boiler itself hadn't been used in decades, but the other machinery inside was still used, frequently.

The fusion launchers, mounted into the tops of his red gloves, were modified with sound dampeners. This made blowing a hole in the lock no problem for him. Scanning the room, through his jet black, eye visor, he noted the alternating heat lasers down the corridor. He had practiced this hundreds of times, back at Light Tower, but the real thing still gave him a nervous feeling. One small mistake and he would be "Proto-pieces" on the floor.

He counted down the pattern, and dashed forward, between the first set of lasers, immediately dropping to the floor, he rolled under the next. Pulling up his flowing, yellow neck cloth, he flipped off one foot through the horizontal-moving beams. After more running, ducking and sliding, he emerged, in one piece, into the Machinery Room.

If the scouts were correct, the large heating regulator, on the far left side of the room, should filter in, linking to the First Lady's Office. He undid the bolts, and ripped open the sheet metal on it's side, revealing a grated, ventilation hole underneath. Pulling up the grate, he hopped inside, crawling through the narrow shaft. A small ray of light shone down on his red helmet. The white curved trim beamed in contrast to the dark visor over his eyes. "Dr. Light," He said, over his comms, "I'm in."

"Good work, Protoman, remember, if things go south, head for the rendezvous point. Stick to the plan, and it should be smooth sailing, though." Light replied.

He crawled out of the duct, underneath a padded, resting bench. There were two rows of security droids, lined up in "standby" mode. He counted ten in total, and they blocked his way to the hallway door. This was looking bad, these sentries weren't listed on the initial report. He stayed crouched by the bench, the slightest noise or movement would alert them. He needed to think fast. He charged fusion launchers, and pointed both fists at the back two droids' heads. When he fired the fusion discs, they simultaneously went through the ranks, piercing all of their heads, and dropping them...all but one, who was only grazed, when shifting its view. It fell to the floor, where he quickly stabbed it's skull, with his tactical knife.

The alarms cut the silence, making him jump. "Shit!" he said, thinking of what to do next.

"Proto, you still have time." Light said, "Get to Wily, before reinforcements arrive, and he retreats to his bunker!"

Tracy came through next, "No! Get the hell out of there! You can still get through the Maintenance Hatch, unseen, Scott!"

"I'll be fine." He replied, "Wily is right down the hall, I'm gonna make a break for it."

She started to object, but he cut her off, "It's all or nothing now, Tron. We've come this far, and he'll just retaliate if we can't stop him."

He opened the door, shooting down waves of bat drones, getting battered by a few. He reached for his belt, grabbing the four inch, cylindrical handle, pulling it free. It had a curved, white and red, diamond-shaped, knuckle shield to guard his hand in the front. Activating a thumb sensor, it extended from the top, becoming a sword-like baton. With impressive speed, he began beating away at approaching gearbots and patrol drones.

Rounding the corner, leaving sparking piles of twitching machines in his wake, their lay an army of security droids, on either side of him. Flicking his thumb, the bottom of his handle also extended, arming him with a staff now. He spun himself, twirling it around his waist, slapping back the front ranks, before lashing out at the heads of the bots to his left. Avoiding blaster fire, he twisted his way around to the back of the group, keeping from getting surrounded. When the storm of bolts came in, he flicked his thumb one more time, expanding the knuckle guard into a full-body shield. The fusion rounds deflected back on their senders, filling the hallway with a burning stench.

Using his free hand, he blasted the lock to the Calligraphy Room and threw open the door. He scanned the room, while firing on the stray droids that followed him in. Wily wasn't there, only his hulking General, in his red boots and gloves. He swung to fire, but Gutsman was, surprisingly, quick, grabbing his arm. He flipped Protoman to the floor, causing him to drop his shield, which retracted back to it's handle form. Guts kicked him in the sternum, flipping him several times, into a wall, cracking it. Before he could level out his vision, he was picked up by the throat and punched, repeatedly. He raised his fusion launcher to try and get in a cheap shot, but the large android ripped the helmet from his head, causing his weapons to go offline. Gutsman slammed him to the floor, ripping his nanosuit open.

He had gotten his sense of direction back, when the door pushed open. It was Curtis Wily, who was obviously frustrated. He shut off the alarms and approached Guts, "He got this close?" He asked looking down at him.

"Sir, he has very advanced gear and a lot of intel on our headquarters." Guts replied.

Wily, holding back his rage, said, "You know who sent him, and you know what we have to do now." He pointed to Protoman, "Throw this one in the compactor and meet me in my office."

Gutsman grinned, picking him up like a rag doll. He escorted him down to the very same Machinery Room that he had come in through. He tossed Protoman on the floor like a bag of garbage, while admiring his helmet. He was waiting for the current compactor cycle to finish, when he spoke, "You know, if it weren't for King Wily's foul mood, I could have just killed you on the spot. Made it quick." He looked at the malfunctioning Protoman, "Shame you have to go like this, it's a nasty thing, being crushed. I bet it would be amazing to see, though."

The doors opened and Guts picked him up, "If it's any consolation, your parts will be shipped to Pennsylvania, to repair other droids. I think humans call it 'organ donors'." Protoman only twitched, with dead eyes. "Shit, I may have done you a favor, with that beating." And with that, he tossed him in, closing the doors, and pressing "activate".

Protoman, falling down the shaft, turned in mid-air, landing on his feet. He looked around quickly, he didn't have much time, and without his helmet or shield hilt, he was almost powerless. He started, frantically, digging a hole into the floor of scrap metal. The compactor edged closer, as he dug faster. At the last second he rolled into the shallow grave, and closed his eyes, tight. The compactor pushed hard on him, as he absorbed the pain, and held back a scream. Then the pressure stopped, and reversed. When it raised high enough to get to the door, he tied a heavy piece of metal to his yellow cloth, and tossed it through the opening, climbing out.

Without his visor, he couldn't see the land mines, and the parole drones still circled. At least the Alpha Classes weren't still out, Guts must have bought his "beaten senseless" act. He carefully crossed the grass, listening for the faint hums of the traps, and avoiding sentries. It was a slow process, but he would make it back, no matter what.

Hunkered inside the Lincoln Memorial, he waited for the Pick-up Team. _It hasn't been that long_, he thought. If they left, they should, at least, be coming back. So he hid...for three days, before making a walk into the city, to steal some plain clothes.

**Four Months Later**

Tracy Bonne sat at her desk, looking out, across her lab. She had no desire to work, raids and scouting missions had slowed down, substantially, since their "leader" had detached himself, mentally. _What the hell is he doing in there?_ She thought. Then she decided, she didn't care. Light had sent her brother to his death, even if he was an android, he was her brother to the core. And now she had to mourn him a second time. The news spread that Wily had killed his son. Alex was an okay guy, but no one even asked how she was feeling.

Her personal comms chimed, snapping her out of the daze. She put the pad on the table and activated it. An extremely poor image of static appeared, but she could almost make out Scott's face. The static was heavy, "Holy shit...works! Tron? Can...hear me?"

She was shocked, "Scott?" she managed to whisper.

"Listen, I...much time. I esc...House...team was gone...about something...Atlas Ca...you to get m...Chesap...ay...in Vir...Don't tell anyone!" The transmission cut out, as she bolted out the door, never to return to Light Tower...as an employee.


	2. Common Endgame

Chapter 2

**2 Years Later-Light Tower**

Even though the celebrating had died down, the news was still buzzing about the capture of King Wily. Miller sat beside Megaman, in the Repair Lab, as they finished melding the skin onto his, newly installed, right arm. "What would've happened if we hadn't arrived back there?" She asked.

He looked away, saying nothing.

She continued, "Dr. Light slipped him a notepad, and gave him twenty-four hours to write down the location of the Atlas Card." She looked away, "You know he isn't going to fill it out, don't you?"

"I'm hoping he doesn't." He said, coldly.

"You don't mean that." She said, "You may think you do, but inside, it's not who you are."

"How would I know, _I'm_ not even sure who I am. A walking weapon? A resurrected failure? Both?" He tried to sift through his thoughts, "I get confused about where _Alex_ ends, and _Megaman_ begins."

She put her hands on his, "We can help you sort it out." She chuckled, "It just sucks that I can't get you trashed anymore." This made them both laugh.

Dr. Light sat at Wily's cell, looking at him through the three inch, glass view port. "Curtis, it's over. You're here now. Just write down where the Atlas Card is, and let the Country rebuild." Wily continued to look to the ceiling, lying on his back. "You ruled the Nation for over a decade. As a show of good faith, resign, peacefully. We can show you mercy."

Wily sat up, "_Mercy?!"_ He laughed, "I've committed genocide! Shit, Preston! I had your only son tortured and murdered! And you ask for a show of good faith, on a promise of fucking _mercy_!?"

Light cut in, "Curtis, this doesn't have to end badly!"

Wily walked over to the view port, crouching down to Light's level. He smiled and whispered, "But it will."

Light switched off the intercom, as he watched Wily return to his cot, laughing. A member of his security staff ran in, "Dr. Light, you're needed, like now!"

When he got to the large holo display, in Security Command B, he stared, wide-eyed, at the image of Dr. Tracy Bonne. "Oh good, you're here." She said.

"Tracy." He said, speechless, "Look, about what happened, with Sco..."

"Stop." She interrupted, "That's not what this is about. You have Wily, I want him, simple."

He squinted with confusion, "Are you insane? Why not come back? Whatever the misunderstanding is, we can work things out, work together."

She scoffed, "Working with you would pose a serious conflict of interests. I don't want the Atlas Card in your hands, and you don't want me to keep you from getting it."

He was growing impatient, "What the hell are you talking about? We both want Wily stopped, that's the common endgame."

"Scott found out what Atlas is capable of, and I began to see why you wanted it so bad. What's _your_ endgame Doctor? Down with King Wily, all hail King Light?"

"That's ridiculous, Tracy! Even for you!" It was old times all over again, at each others' throats. "And what, exactly, do you want it for? World Peace?" He asked sarcastically.

"My plan is to help people! Not myself!" She shouted. After composing herself, she continued, "I have a plan, I contacted you because I want to work out a deal. If you will, I would like to meet with you privately, tomorrow. Just hear me out, is all I ask. Either way, Wily loses. Common endgame, right?"

Light took a breath, "Okay, I'll listen to your idea, tomorrow, eleven-thirty, Pier twelve."

"Thank you, Doctor." She said as transmission ended.

Back on The Phantom, Protoman sat, petting the large German Shepherd, "So how is the good doctor?" He asked, playfully.

"Shut up," she replied, chuckling. "He answered my holo on Security Command B, so Wily is in the Southwest Block. There was no sign of 'Alex' in the area, so I'm guessing he's either in Repair, or Jennings' Lab."

"My guess would be Repair. You should have seen the shape Guts had him in, when I saved his ass. And that was before he found Wily." He added.

Getting back on track, she continued, "Anyway, I can get you into my old lab, which is on the same floor, but the rest is up to you."

He put on his helmet and responded, "Well, looks like that's my cue. Let's do this."

He repelled from above the clouds, down to the closed off lab. "Alright, Tron, open the shutters." He commed.

She replied, "Give me a few seconds, they tried to re-encrypt the controls."

"C'mon, are you se..." The shutters opened before he could finish. "...Okay, nevermind." He said.

He dropped into the empty lab, disconnecting his line as the panels closed. The good thing about being dead, is that no one bothers to remove your clearance from the system. He made his way, easily, to Detention Block B. Using his helmet, he activated his EMP emitter, to the lowest setting.

The camera displays in the security office began to flicker and jump. The security guard at the desk fiddled with the display adjusters, only making it worse. He turned away from the console, to get assistance, and caught himself looking into the face of a ghost. "Prot..." He began to say, as the android cut him off, raising a finger to his lips, indicating that he wanted silence. His left hand was a hollow tube, with a faint gas emitting from it. The guard collapsed, snoring loudly. Deactivating his EMP, he looked at the security feeds, locating Wily.

Dr. Light was inside the Viewing Room, sitting at the desk, beside Wily's door. The clipboard was still on the floor, blank. He looked at his watch and sighed, Curtis was going to make him get his information the hard way. The, all too familiar, feeling of a gun barrel pressed to his head sent chills down his spine.

"Stand up." Demanded the intruder.

He put his hands out and stood, slowly. He turned around, and immediately felt like a rush off cold water had covered him. "Scott?!"

Protoman delivered a right blow to his stomach, making him gasp for air. "I've been wanting to do that for over two years." He said, pulling him back up by his shirt. "But that's not why I'm here." He looked over at Wily's door.

Light, looking at the gun barrel-shaped finger, replied, "I see that Tracy _has_ been intercepting our intel."

Protoman shoved him, face first, against Wily's view port, making him jump from his cot. "Open the cell, Doctor." He petitioned.

"I can't do that, Scott." He responded, firmly.

After slamming Light's face against the glass a second time, he urged further, "You'll still get your Country back, but we _need _that card. So I ask you again, open the fucking cell, now."

Wily moved close to the glass, laughing. Tracy came over the comms, speaking frantically, "Scott you need to get Wily out, now! I'm moving to position! We need to leave immediately!"

Just as the comms cut out, the wall inside Wily's cell exploded outward. His Lieutenant, Burstman, glided in through the opening. Alarms blared throughout the building. Burstman wore a black nanosuit with dark purple chest and shoulder armor, the back of which, were lined with downward-curved jet ports. His purple boots and gloves contained these ports as well, in addition to wrist cannons, that spray explosive foam and putty. It was impossible to see his eyes, through his round, tinted, goggles that connected to a purple, crown-like head gear, circling his black, spiked hair.

Wily backed up to his chest, and pulled straps from his armor, locking himself down. With his long, grey hair flowing in the wind, he ginned through his beard, and was gone, in a flash.

Light, frantically, typed his code, opening the cell. He got to the edge of the opening to see hundreds of droids swarming the building, from all angles. Turning to activate the Emergency Evacuation Announcement, Protoman darted past him, diving out of the hole, into a ninety-nine story free-fall.

"Tron, open the hatch!" He yelled, as he saw The Phantom approaching. He whistled, as the side hatch opened. His German Shepherd came diving from the ship, tail wagging, to greet him mid-air. "C'mere, boy!" He said, trying to get close to the falling dog. It's legs spun around on themselves, dislocating, as it's spine collapsed, flat. The legs locked horizontally, with the paws changing into jet ports. Protoman, reaching the animal, planted his feet on his back, locking them magnetically, and soared out over the coast, in hot pursuit.

Megaman and Miller were in the hallway, heading to Jennings' Lab, when the alarms sounded. They looked at each other, as she motioned him to go ahead without her. She put in her comms earpiece, "Guard Teams, Report. What's the situation?"

"Captain, swarmbots are trying to get in through the Lobby!" Lieutenant Radcliffe responded.

"Ninety-Nine reporting, we've got an airship circling the top floors, shooting through the windows!" Another chimed in.

"Sixty-Seven reporting, gearbots are in the hallways! We're covering the workers' retreat!" One more added.

"_Attention,"_ the automated voice blared, "_this is not a drill. All personnel and civilians are to take evacuation measures immediately."_ The message repeated, as she made her way to the elevators, grabbing her pistols out of the locker, on the way. When the lift arrived she pressed the key for the Ground Floor.

Megaman came running into Jennings' lab, instantly greeted with the doctor tossing him his new helmet. He put it on and commed Light, there was no response. "Lana, what's going on?" He asked, as he headed for a new nanosuit.

Jennings stopped him, "Not that one." He said, motioning for him to follow, quickly.

Miller replied, "We're under attack. I'm making my way to the Lobby to cover the civilians escape."

"Alright, I'm about to go check on Wily, Dr. Light isn't answering his comms." He said, as he lay eyes on his new gear. It was a step up from his original suit, with added, dark blue, chest and shoulder armor.

"I found a design that makes the top armor twice as strong, without sacrificing mobility." Jennings said, as he put the suit on.

"Does it still change colors?" Megaman asked.

"Of course." Jennings replied.

Megaman raised an eyebrow at him, "We're gonna talk about this later." Locking on his boots, he made his way to the door. It melted down before his eyes, into a bubbling liquid.

The army of drones and gearbots rushed by in the hallway, as Skullman stepped through the door. An android obsessed with death and macabre, he wore a black nanosuit, with white, knee-high, steel, boots. His white chest and sternum armor had a rippled, ribcage pattern, while his shoulders were protected by the top halves of human skulls, coated in titanium. His white gauntlets had openings on the top knuckles, which could dispense, sulfuric projectiles, of any density.

His yellow eyes stared at Megaman, through the iron skull helmet that covered his entire head, "Well, an added bonus." He said darkly. "I was only coming here for him," he pointed to Jennings, "but you net a full promotion, Megaman."

Megaman scoffed, "You might be too late for that, we've captured Wily."

Skullman laughed, "We know you have, King Wily. He's also on the _to do_ list."

Megaman felt enraged, they had launched a full-scale raid to jail-break Wily.

Skullman emitted a small, blue, cloud of gas around his fists as he charged in with a left hook. (_White and Blue_) He quickly put up a wall of ice and rolled to his right, grabbing Jennings as the ice shattered, melting. Shoving the doctor into an office and locking it down, (_Blue_) He opened fire on his rival. Skullman, rushing forward, put up his left palm and disintegrated the bolts with a cloud of orange gas. With his free hand, he sprayed a clear liquid at Megaman, who narrowly avoided the stream.

The office wall and door melted away, as Jennings jumped through the side window and made a break for it. Skullman launched four blue bolts at the doctor's back. (_White and Blue_) From behind the assassin, Megaman blasted a strip of ice across the floor, causing Jennings to slip and fall, avoiding the poison bolts by millimeters.

Skull spun and fired another stream of the clear acid. (_Grey and Red_) Megaman met the liquid with a blue flame, causing it to steam into the air. Before he extinguished the fire, his midsection was struck by a heavy, sliding table, sending him backwards through glass display podiums. The black and white android stood over him, palms extended, when he jolted forward, violently, causing the acid to splash down, missing Megaman's face. He was lifted off his feet and flung across the room, crashing into a steel-plated, testing barricade.

Megaman jumped up, to see Jennings, wielding a massive, two-handed launcher. "Polarity Cannon." Jennings shrugged.

Megaman nodded and ran over to where the enemy had landed. Skullman sprung to his feet, meeting the advance with a swift forearm across the android's throat, bringing him off his feet and to the floor. He quickly fired three acidic bolts across the room at Jennings. One met his weapon, the other two slapped his chest, eating away at his skin.

The doctor fell, screaming in pain, as Skullman approached, "Brian Jennings, your days of supplying the rebels with weapons have come to an end." He put his hand out, as he was, again, hit hard from behind. He came off the ground a bit and landed, face down, by his would-be victim. He turned around to see the glowing soccer ball, bouncing wildly, smashing lights, cracking pillars, and wreaking general havoc on the lab. He aimed and sprayed it, mid-air, melting it to putty. (_White and Blue_) Megaman took advantage of the distraction, firing eight long icicles through the assassin's unarmored torso and thighs.

Skullman dropped to his knees, draining fluid everywhere. He gazed at Megaman, with pure hatred, "I may not get the bonus. But I never fail." He pulled an icicle from his stomach and shoved it through Jennings' chest.

Screaming, Megaman ran, full-speed, (_Grey and Orange_) dispensing a dagger, and shoving it into the android's eye socket. He dug the blade around until Skullman fell limp, and turned to Jennings body. It was too late, he was killed instantly. He grieved for a moment, then looked to the lifeless android, grabbing the dagger, and cutting open both of it's skulls.


	3. Honor in Death, The Hard Way

Chapter 3

When the elevator doors opened, Miller was caught off guard. Drones and droids, of the flying variety, were chasing and slaughtering civilians in the lobby. Her soldiers fended some of them off, but she was slightly unprepared for an assault. She was still in her white t-shirt and jeans, her hair wasn't even pulled up. All she had were here pistols.

She was fully understanding that she would, most likely, die in this lobby today. But she needed to distract the enemy enough to let the people get to the underground tunnel. Pulling her guns, she opened fire on the overgrown wasps. She circled the border of the room, ducking fusion bolts, and making dust of the "Beta classes".

"Captain!" Shouted Radcliffe, "Catch!" He tossed her a black combat vest, from one of her fallen comrades, followed by an automatic fusion rifle. Holstering her handguns, she grabbed the gun and laid cover-fire by the escape hall.

The group of swarmbots were almost depleted, when their leader arrived. Miller and her twelve commandos, found themselves face-to-face with Geminiman...and another Geminiman, and following him in was a third. The first thing Miller thought was how beautiful he was to look at, even though he would be her killer.

He was perfectly sculpted in a black nanosuit, with a chest guard of flawless diamond. His boots were sky blue, with white shin guards, also plated with the diamond element. His hair and eyes matched the blue on his boots, topped with a white, metal headband that bared a clear, diamond, spiked half-star, curving back over the front half of his scalp.

But his gloves were an engineer's wet dream. The blue gauntlets could emit fusion-powered lasers from his fingertips. But by connecting the nodes on his palms, and touching any surface, he could alter it's matter by using a highly focused flow, and an extreme amount of fusion. He used this to transmute carbon copies of himself, that acted on his command.

They were in a silent stare-down with the smiling humanoids, when Miller said to her men, "Run. Make sure the last of the survivors get out safely, I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"Captain," started Radcliffe.

"That's an order." She said plainly

He looked nervously to the androids ahead, "You heard the Captain, let's go!" He turned to her, "It's been an honor, Miller."

The men moved out, as she looked to the Geminimen. "Shall we?" She said, raising her rifle. The androids fanned out, as she ran in firing. The Gemini to her left fired a blue laser at her torso, missing as she twisted to avoid it. She brought the butt of her rifle around to meet the face of the middle Gemini. He slapped it away, easily, grabbing her shirt and headbutting her. As she stumbled back, another laser came from the right, searing the side of her neck.

The middle Gemini, that had knocked her senseless, now rained an array of beams down at her, scorching her skin as she rolled forward. She drove her shoulder into his chest, knocking chunks of dust and brick off of him, as they hit the floor. The Gemini from the left fired more lasers at her as she rolled away, being met by a glove around her throat, and a finger to her head. He picked her up off the floor prepared to execute her, when she threw a straight kick to his knee, folding his leg back as he dropped her. Another Gemini grabbed her from behind and flipped her to the floor as he shot the wounded clone in the head, turning it into sidewalk pieces.

She got to her feet and ran for her rifle, when a shot of pain went through her side. She dropped with a burned laser scorch by her hip. Grabbing the rifle, she sprayed the closest androids to her, one of the broke into pieces of gravel, while the bolts completely bounced off of the diamond plating of the other. He front kicked her in the face, splitting her eyebrow open, and held out his hand, ready to shoot. Like a wounded animal, she grabbed his arm and snatched it from side to side avoiding the close-range beams. Miller planted her feet to his sternum and shoved him back, making a mad dash jumping the Reception desk.

She made a split-second assessment of the confusion. First: Geminiman is the only one who can replicate. Second: The clones are only made of fusion and scrap, so the more they fire their lasers, the weaker they become. Third: Contrary to their appearance, the clones' armor isn't real. And fourth: Making copies uses a larger amount of fusion, so the real Gemini can only replicate so much, before having to wait to use his lasers.

Looking up at the mirror, she saw the two flanking the desk from both sides. She grabbed the emergency shotgun from under the paneling and moved, quietly, to the right corner. She checked the mirror and waited for him to get close enough, then jumped out and fired, point blank in his face. He collapsed into a pile of wood chips. She turned to look left, when she the real Gemini whit his hands on top of the desk. Like a wave, it came rippling toward her, fast. Before she could react, the replica came out on the end and kicked her in the face. She landed on her back, dropping her weapon, as the clone Gemini came down on top of her, stomping her chest. In her heave for air, she pulled her twin pistols and opened fire into his chest. It rained down computer parts and desktop pieces on top of her. She threw the debris aside and stood up, weapons drawn.

The room was empty. She carefully eyed the open areas, through the hair hanging in her bloody face. Gemini emerged, clapping, from behind the fountain. He looked around, smiling, "Congratulations, Captain. The last of your cattle have made it to safety."

She shot him three times. He dropped into a puddle of water.

"I must admit though," another continued, from behind a pillar, "you have a lot more heart than I gave you credit for."

Miller shot this one down as well.

Another emerged from the balcony, behind her, "But I was never really here for them," he said grinning, "I'm only looking to retrieve your head, Lana Miller."

She pulled her guns up, when she was grabbed around the neck, from behind. He whispered in her ear, "You should have run with your men." He put a finger to her temple, but before he could fire, she drove the back of her head into his face. He stumbled back, shaken, when she delivered two shots to his face. Pieces of the _Light Tower_ sign dropped to the floor, while the remaining Gemini jumped down from the balcony, kicking her in the back. She fell forward into a roll, turning to face him. "Why not shoot me, Machine?" She asked with a bloody smile, "Was your little show worth it?"

She quickly picked up a piece of the broken sign, whipping it at him like a disc. He, easily, twisted to the left, dodging it, only to be rewarded with a bolt through his left palm. Grabbing his hand, he let out a yell. The distraction allowed Miller to unload on him, until her pistols overheated.

Thanks to his diamond plating, most of the rounds simply bounced off, his nanosuit absorbing the rest had made him stagger. She closed in, shoving her metal-clad right fist into his face. He fell against a pillar, instantly returning the blow with an uppercut to her gut. The armored vest didn't do to well softening the hit. She fell to her knees, gasping for air. She tried to retreat, crawling back to the end of reception desk.

He pulled her up, lift her chin to look her in the face. "Dammit, I'm trying to make this quick." He said as he put his index finger to her forehead. She closed her eyes as the single shot rang out.

Geminiman regained his vision, to see the city street, upside-down. She had hit him with something, it was hard to move. He rolled to his stomach and tried to stand, but couldn't feel his legs. He turned to see the bottom half of his body, lying beside the blood soaked woman, gripping a shotgun.

She staggered over to him, as he rolled onto his back, laughing. "What's so funny, machine?" She asked removing his headgear.

"It's just...no human has ever bested an android in combat." He spit out red fluids, "This is a little embarrassing. You're a hell of a fighter." His smiled faded, "I wasn't ready to die today."

She lowered the gun, lying on her back next to him, "I was."

He chuckled looking over at her, "What are you doing?" He asked.

"My friend needs the core chip in your head. I was going to let you shut out before retrieving it." She replied.

He looked back to the ceiling, surprised, "I see why they look up to you. It really is an honor, Captain."

"You know, I always thought all androids were evil psychopaths, but never really thought about what it must be li..." She turned to see he was dead. She sat up, somberly, and pulled the diamond blade she had taken from his belt. _Shit, _she thought, _I must be going soft._

As Megaman entered Wily's holding area, he saw Light in cell, with a dozen of swarmbots trying to break through the glass. The wall on the inside was gone, and so was Wily. Infuriated,(_White and Blue_) he held up his left arm, spraying the whole area with gaseous nitrogen. The wasp-like drones dropped to the floor shattering, as he walked up and tapped the frozen glass, breaking it into pieces. He looked at the hole, and then to Light, "Please tell me he jumped to his death." He said, already knowing that wasn't the case.

Dr. Light was flustered, "Everything happened in minutes, we need to go, now. I'll explain when we get to safety."

The building shook again, from the circling airship, spraying rounds into the room. They dropped to the floor, sealing the door behind them.

Megaman stood up, "Go meet Miller on the ground floor, and blow the tunnel when you're on the other side. I gotta take care of this, I'll meet you at the safe house."

"Son, there is no need to take on an airship. Everyone is safe, we need to leave." Light pleaded.

Megaman shook his head, slowly, obviously enraged, "They don't get to leave here alive, not after what they've done." He stopped for a moment, "They killed Jennings, I didn't want to tell you here, but I can't let them just get away with that."

Tears welled up in Light's eyes, as he nodded, and went to the elevator, silently.

On his way to the roof, he got the report from Miller, "Megaman, we've got Light, sealing the tunnel now."

"Understood." He replied, as he opened the roof access door. The fusion rounds came in fast and heavy, while he ran for cover. He made his way from machinery to machinery, the turrets eating away at the rooftop. When he reached the edge, he waited for the guns to stop and recharge.(_Blue_) Charging his BSTR, he jumped from behind cover, blasting the front turret to confetti.

As the ship rocked and turned, he realized he had been set up. Standing in the open hatch, holding the safety bar with one hand, was General Guts. He was dressed in a grey business suit, with a blue tie. His long, black, dress coat was blowing in the wind, as he smirked, holding up detonator, and pressing the red key.

There was a deafening explosion on the bottom of the tower, obliterating the first ten floors. The building shook violently, falling toward the coast. Megaman ran, as hard as he could, across the roof of the toppling structure. He dove as the building fell over, grabbing a transmission tower, holding on against the G-forces that threatened to rip him off. Wrapping his right arm and legs through the bars, laying on his back, (_White and Blue_) he unloaded a massive flow of nitrogen onto the bars below his feet. They froze solid, while the ocean grew bigger. Locking both arms in the side railings, he pulled his shoulders forward, with relentless force. The tower snapped, launching upward as the structure crashed into the ocean.

The plan wasn't well-thought out, but it had saved him from certain death. He reminded himself of this, as his private cage flipped end-over-end, before tumbling, harshly, across the side of Light Tower. He was flung free of it, rolling, painfully, along the concrete.

When he finally came to a halt, he lay on his back, looking up at the afternoon sky. Despite all of the screaming people on the streets, he felt at peace. He closed his eyes, as Miller came over the comms, "Megaman! What the hell was that!? The streets just shook like hell, then flooded! Was it a bomb!? Megaman, respond! Please!"

He looked to the sky and replied, plainly, "We lost."


	4. Of Cats and Mice

Chapter 4

His speeds had to be north of a hundred-fifty miles an hour, but he was closing in on the fleeing Lieutenant. Tron was trailing a little, but he wasn't about to let this piece of shit wiggle free again. This was the second time Protoman had been within feet of The King, only to turn up empty-handed.

Burstman turned over and began firing airborne clouds of foam, that detonated all around him. He ducked, holding the sides of the animal, while it barrel rolled out of danger. He couldn't fire back, for fear of hitting Wily, or causing the android to crash into the water, resulting in an equally dead Wily. At this disadvantage, all he could do was try and keep up.

The android began to fire solid-mass putty now. Grabbing his hilt, he quickly deployed his shield, batting the explosives away. The small explosions caused his dog to falter a little, swerving wildly.

Tron came over the comms, "Be careful with my dog, Scott!"

He responded, "Rush is fine. this is no sweat to him, right boy?" The German Shepherd barked.

They dropped in low, to hinder the enemies vantage point, and accelerated. Burstman continued rolling, trying to keep him in view, but Protoman was just more nimble than he was. When he turned back upward, he finally got a clear view of his foe, dropping down on top of him.

Rush flew along side of them, as the two spun, locked in a clumsy melee, with Wily covering his head between them. Protoman, with his legs locked like a vice around Burstman, punched his adversary repeatedly, even landing some cheap shots on The King.

"Tron, bring the ship up here, now! This is gonna be a high-speed kidnapping!" He said.

"I'm pushing it already, Scott! I hope you know what you're doing." She replied

Burstman flipped over, dangling him upside down over the ocean. He started to drop altitude, intending to behead him with the water. Protoman grabbed his hilt, extending one end, and swung up, catching the android across the face. The impact caused him to jerk and spin, while regaining orientation. Being flung around threw Proto's sensors off, but it was better than the alternative.

When Tron approached the two, she saw her brother, trying to pry loose Wily's metal harnesses. She started to open the supply hatch, when Burstman stopped mid-flight. They darted past her in the opposite direction. Protoman was dislodged and thrown through the air, as the android released Wily, dropping him into the ocean, and flew off.

Proto was met by Rush, who immediately pursued the retreating rival. "Tron turn back! He just dropped Wily in the water, get to him before he drowns!"

"I'm on my way now." She responded, frustrated.

A volley of explosive putty came at him fast. Maneuvering to avoid getting blown out of the sky, he unleashed his own storm of fusion discs. His enemy couldn't dodge them all, he took a couple to his back armor, spurting and tumbling, clumsily. He regained control and continued flying directly for the lighthouse ahead.

The three crashed through the glass, at high speeds. Burstman flipping to his feet, sliding past the spotlight. While Protoman grabbed onto the railing, flipping over to the inner grating. He stood up slowly, facing his opponent. Rush stalked from the flank, fur on his neck standing, and titanium teeth fangs bared as he growled.

"You went through a lot to rescue your superior. Why just dump him off like that?" He asked.

"Just doing my part." Burstman replied, "Besides, I wanted some 'alone-time' with _you._ You're worth a full promotion, and a personal army."

"Your A.I. isn't very high in the _Intelligence_ category, is it?" Proto responded, "How is Wily gonna promote you if he's captured or dead?"

The android laughed at the question, "The King didn't issue the orders. Chain of Command and all that."

"Guts?" He asked, perplexed, "I killed him, back at the White House, yesterday."

"Is that so?" Burstman chuckled, "Then how could he have issued orders forty-five minutes ago?" He smiled, "It would seem, I'm not the one lacking the _Intelligence_, after all."

With that, Protoman and Rush charged their opponent. He fired three discs at the android's head, causing him to duck. Rush locked onto his left arm, snatching it violently. Burstman brought his free hand up to eliminate the animal, but Protoman had somehow closed the gap between them, in a split second, grabbing him, and flipping him into the spotlight. Glass and sparks decorated the air, as did Protoman, launching four cylinders, with blinking red lights, that latched around his rival.

Burstman, panicking, shot himself straight up, to avoid becoming small pieces. The spotlight erupted, leaving a gaping hole in it's place. The visored android jumped to meet him, mid-air, bringing his baton around, toward his jaw. He put up a palm, releasing a flash of light, causing Protoman to abandon his assault.

The black visor raised, as he put his hands to his eyes. He felt a metal rail slap his ribs, as he met the grating. Burstman was on top of him, instantly, raining down punches on his head. He activated his EMP at full capacity, causing his attacker to scramble back, trying to adjust his sensors. In the confusion, Rush dove onto his back, mauling him from behind. He flipped the dog to the floor, making it yelp in pain, when Protoman stood up.

The two, simultaneously, fired on each other. Proto, with a grey glob on his chest, Burstman, with a blinking cylinder on his, they looked at each other as the explosives sent them in opposite directions.

Protoman must have hit every handrail on the way down lighthouse's center. At least that was how he felt when he rolled to his back. His nanosuit front was blown away, and his chest scorched. Rush came down the traditional way, using the stairs, and began licking his face. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He said, waving the dog away.

When he walked outside, he saw Burstman, lying on the rocks with a hole where his chest should have been. He shook his head and sat down next to the body. Petting Rush, he told him, "You don't bring an M-80 to a C-4 fight."

When Tron set down and came walking out, he pointed a thumb to the dead android and said, grinning, "No ticket." He could tell she was frustrated, and he was pretty sure why. His smile dropped, "Tell me you found him." He said.

She put her hands up to her scalp and looked away, "There was no sign of him. He either swam back to shore in ten seconds, or he was unconscious when he was dropped, and drowned."

"Shit, Tron!" He said, angrily. "What are we supposed to do now? Go back on the run?"

"Hey, don't put this shit on me!" She fired back, "I had a big ass ship to turn around! Why didn't you grab him?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I thought that you were perfectly capable of picking up an old man, floating in fucking water!" He yelled back, "Rush and I were a little busy, trying to catch the asshole that was trying to kill us!"

She pointed at him, "That's another thing! You're not going to be using my dog to hunt down officers!" Rush cocked his head to the side. "He is here to assist us, not for you to get him killed!"

Protoman shook his head, "Fine. But we have other problems to deal with."

Caught off guard, she asked, "What do you mean?"

He got up and began cutting into the head of Burstman, "Guts is alive."

She went cold, "Tell me that's a sick joke."

He grunted as he ripped the chip from the bloody skull. "That's not all," he held the chip up, "We need to take a look inside the 'think box', to see just how bad shit is."

Megaman walked the streets, covered in a large shawl and hood, carrying a duffel bag. He felt naked and vulnerable out in the open with Wily's patrol drones buzzing the streets. He needed to get to the safe house. His helmet, boots, and gloves were shoved in the bag, so to not draw unwanted attention.

The Fineuil Hall was the perfect hideout. From the outside it looked like utter Hell, broken bricks, boarded up windows, just an eyesore. He cautiously approached the side of the building, and put his eye up to a hole in one of the window boards. After a quick scan, the hatch behind a bush to his right, slid back.

He entered, underground, through the living sector, and made his way to the Main Hall. He was greeted by, an upset, Lana Miller, who was littered with white bandages. "It's the fucking 'takeover' all over again." She whispered.

He figured she had heard about Jennings, and probably noticed the absence of Light Tower, by now. She was filled with anger, he could tell by the hateful look in her eyes. Trying to calm her down, he led her to the console, where Light stood, looking over security feeds. "Let's all start at the beginning, figure out, exactly, what happened in there." Megaman said.

For the next two hours, the three went over security feeds, debriefing the events that occurred. "I don't understand," Miller stated, "Gutsman is a highly intelligent tactician, why personally stay behind after Wily was out? I mean, any given droid could have blown the building after the failure or completion of the mission."

"I just figured he wanted to see me die for himself." Said Megaman.

"But you said so yourself, the assassin acted as if killing you were an added bonus." Light added, "Why would he stay behind, if you were considered an afterthought of their mission?"

"I'm not sure. Let's upload one of the officers' core chips. Maybe there's some intel on what their orders were." Megaman stated.

As they began to thrift through old mission orders, they came across one, issued by Gutsman, less than an hour before the raid. It made them all freeze with confusion and concern, equally...

_Directive Zero: Initiative_

_**Radcliffe, Marcus- **Personal Estate_

_**Miller, Lana- **Personal Estate/Private Security_

_**Jennings, Brian- **Personal Estate/ Systems Upgrade_

_**Bonne, Tracy-** Systems Upgrade/ Personal Human Stock_

_**Bonne, Scott (Protoman)-** Full Promotion/ Personal Army_

_**Light, Preston- **Full Promotion/ Private Army/ Systems Upgrade_

_**Light, Alex (Megaman)- **Full Promotion/ Personal Army_

_**Wily, Curtis- **State of Preference/ All Listed Rewards_

It was a hunt and kill list. They were all wanted, now. Then something that Skullman had said, suddenly clicked, "We know you have King Wily, he's also on our 'to do' list." They weren't there to rescue Wily. Guts was there to kill them all.


	5. Putting Together a Puzzle

Chapter 5

Aboard The Phantom, Tracy and Scott gazed at the _Directive Zero: Initiative_. "I still don't get it." Scott said, confused.

"It seems pretty straightforward to me," Tracy responded, "Guts is making a play for Megatropolis, and probably other countries after that."

"In order to do that, though, he would need the Atlas Card. So why kill Wily?" Scott asked. And as it dawned on them both, they looked at each other. "You thinkin what I'm thinkin?" He said, smiling.

She shook her head, "Stop being cliché, and no, not a chance. When the sun goes down, we are headed east, to Australia."

"Tron, think about it," he said as she walked out, "We find Guts, we find the Atlas."

She came back in, after a few minutes, "Listen, I know that this 'Ultimate Power' is tempting, and I want you to have it just as bad. But this is not worth it. There are kill orders on our heads, Scott. All over the Country. Before, we were invisible, no one knew we were hunting them. But now, we are just an android, a human, and a 'sort-of' dog." Rush barked. "They are hunting us now, Scott. We need to disappear."

He rubbed his hair, "We have been hiding for two years. We can't just keep running until, one day, we're killed. We have a chance to fix the Country, and be it's heroes, it's leaders." He shook his head, "And you'd rather hide?"

She felt her pride tugging at her, "I need to take a shower." Tracy said, as she walked out.

**Faneuil Hall**

Dr. Light searched all of Wily's intel, which was stolen, looking for anything on 'Directive Zero'.

"How's it coming?" Megaman asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure what this 'directive' even is." He said wearily. "_Directive One_ was the program launched to turn the machines on the humans."

"The takeover." Stated Megaman.

"Right," Light replied, "and _Directive Two_ was the enslavement of the Country, after the fall. But what is more confusing is this, if Gutsman is trying to kill Wily, he won't be able to launch a directive. Only Curtis has the authorization to do that."

"This doesn't add up." Megaman added, "How does your 'Protoman' fit into all this? You said he and his sister wanted the Atlas Card. Well if they know about this list, maybe they would be willing to help us stop 'Directive Zero', before it even starts."

Light shook his head, "We can't trust them. They're obsessed with getting the Atlas Card for themselves."

"So what if they do. If the only person who has access to use it is Wily, what does it matter if they have it?" He asked.

Taking off his glasses, Light explained, "When he programmed the card, there was a major flaw in it's programming. There's a loophole, where if an android uploaded the content's into it's core chip, it would have access to, almost limitless, power of any nature. The ability to do anything it willed. Access to knowledge, surpassing today's technology. Protoman wants it, so he can be the ultimate life form." He stopped, in glaring realization, putting his glasses back on. As he turned back to the console, he said, "That's it! Guts can authorize the program if he gets his hands on the Atlas!"

"And he must know where it is, if he's willing to kill Wily." Added Megaman.

"I need to find and decrypt _Directive Zero_, immediately." He pointed to Megaman, "You should start trying to hunt down Wily."

"I'm pretty sure Wily is probably dead by now." He responded.

"No. Burstman could have killed all of us in the Detention Center. I'm thinking that the General has some double agents in his midst. Start with Burstman and link him to his known battle comrades, from the takeover. One of them knows where Wily is."

The android sat at the console, across the room, flipping through dossiers. Beginning a trail of breadcrumbs.

**The Phantom**

Scott had just finished installing Burstman's access codes, when Tracy came running in, wearing nothing but a towel. "Suit up, now!" She said quickly.

He raised an eyebrow to her, "_You_ suit up."

"I'm serious, we need to move!" She continued, "You're going swimming!" She said as she ran off.

On the way back toward the ocean, she explained her epiphany, "So Burstman broke Wily out instead of killing him there, that's odd enough. But then, I was thinking, why drop him in the ocean to collect on you? No offense, but Wily's reward trumped everyone's. So what if he never intended to kill him? And why stop to dump him to his death?"

"Unless, it was a rendezvous point." Finished Scott.

"It also explains why there was no sign of his body, seconds later. Even an unconscious person wouldn't have sank out of radar range that fast." She added.

They reached the coordinates, hovering, silently. "I'm sure there's a compound down there." She said looking out. "You ready?"

The black visor came down, under his chin, and sealed, air-tight. He gave a "thumbs up" and dove out into the night sky.

Inside the compound, Waveman sat, patiently, across from Wily. He wore a dark blue nanosuit, whit yellow trim and thruster ports along his ribs. His yellow gloves had a harpoon launcher on the right, and a fusion cannon on the left. His helmet was dark blue and covered his head, nose, and mouth. It had a sharp, curved trident head, coming to points, above his ears, and up from his forehead.

"We need to figure out how to stop Guts. That's Priority One." Said Wily.

"We already have men in place, working on how to do that. But since this afternoon, no one has seen him." Waveman replied.

What reports have you gotten, since I've been here?" He asked.

"Light Tower has fallen, quite literally, and their forces presumed dead, but not confirmed. Also, I haven't been able to reach Lieutenant Burst, since he dropped you off, so I'm assuming the android that was pursuing the two of you, killed him."

"Shit." Wily muttered, "That little prick was supposed to be dead two years ago."

They stared at the security displays, for a few minutes, when Wily broke the silence. "So either Guts wants to get the Atlas; which doesn't make sense, considering he knows he can't actually get to it. Or he wants to seize the Country and rule it himself; which also doesn't make sense, because he was already in that position of power, with me." His head began to hurt, he couldn't possibly understand an androids motives.

Waveman spoke up, "He's been keeping us all in the dark, sir. The other officers see him as their leader now, and they will, blindly, do anything he wills, to go through with his 'Directive Zero.'"

Wily's blood ran ice-cold, "Get me a transport, and get me to Wily Industries, now! Have whoever you can trust, meet me there!" He said, jumping up.

As if on cue, the alarms rang out. They looked to the security feed, to see that Protoman had found the emergency exit, and blown it open. "He's right up the hall. You need to run, sir." Wave demanded. He walked over to the console and sent his orders to his men, then waited for Wily to clear the building.

Protoman coated the Command Center door, with a thick foam, and stepped back. It blew open as he charged in, hilt in hand. He was greeted, instantly, with a blast of water, escorting him back down the hallway. The rude "hello", in the form of a large harpoon, speared through his shoulder, pinning him to the wall. His adversary shut off the water, to rush him with a long trident. Frantically reaching for his hilt, with his foot, he tossed it up, catching it with his free hand. The shield deployed, just in time to deflect the blade, leaving Waveman open for a baton to the side of his head.

Protoman pressed his feet to the wall, and yelled as he pushed himself free of the spike. When his knees hit the floor, his foe was quick to pull another harpoon, from his belt, and shove it into his gut. He brought up his BSTR, pressed it to the android's ribs, and sent him on a journey to the ceiling. The armor was tough, but the blast still had an effect on him. He staggered, backward, into the Command Center, in retreat. The blood flowed, lightly, as Protoman pulled the blade from his stomach.

Waveman's comms alerted him that Wily had exited the compound. Finally, he could play rough. As the visored android came stalking in, he pressed the various keys on the console. The ocean water started flowing in, as the machinery sealed itself off. Wave's clear visor came down, also sealing itself.

Taking a cue, Proto lowered his own visor, back under his chin. As the water reached his knees, he fired a flurry of discs at his foe. Waveman dove into the water, jetting towards his legs, causing him to splash, hard, to his side. He pushed himself up, searching for his target. The water had risen to his shoulders, now, making it hard to move. The enemy made another pass, attempting to impale him. He deployed his shield again, catching the android head-on, knocking them both to the floor.

Waveman was on top of him in a flash, punching his visor, trying to break it. He brought up his arms to protect himself, but the punches came as if there was no water between them. He put both feet to Waveman's midsection, pushing him straight up. The android launched a harpoon down at him, barely missing his face, as he rolled to the side.

He fired five crash bombs back at the shark-like android. The explosions sent him into a frenzy of spinning and dodging, while Protoman used his hyper-speed ability to jump, at normal speed, toward him. He grabbed him by his "trident horns" and whipped him to the floor, violently. As he came down to follow the attack, he caught a glimpse of Waveman, darting across the floor, to the left, at high speeds.

The stalking android watched his prey, landing heavy back on the floor. The water was a grey tint, thanks to Protoman's bombs. He used this to stay out of sight, while he picked up his trident, and waited to strike.

Protoman saw the android, through his scanners, but pretended to be searching, while keeping watch. Wave man could maneuver like a fish in the water, so catching him off-guard was the only way to stop him. He made his move, rushing in with his trident spear, unbelievably fast. Protoman, quickly, cranked his EMP full tilt, causing his foe to drop his spear, grabbing his helmet. His thrusters sputtered, shaking him for a split second, long enough for Proto to coat him in the thick layer of foam, and push away.

The small explosion push him against the ceiling, but a small price to pay. _Sometimes less really is more, _he thought as he came down to see Waveman's helmet busted wide open. Had he used a crash bomb he would have killed them both. The android's spasms were short-lived, it's been the same since the beginning of time, water and electronics don't mix.

The massive magnet pulled him back to The Phantom, holding Waveman's head. He sat on the edge of the loading bay, removing his helmet, when Tracy walked up. "So I was right?" She asked cheerfully.

"I don't know why you're smiling, Wily wasn't there, he got away." He responded.

"Yes, but we know, for sure, that he's alive." She smiled bigger, "And if he's alive, we can catch him."

"But if Gutsman knows where it is, what good does that do?" He asked.

"I haven't figured it out yet, but we're missing something. If the General knows where it is, or has it, he would have used it by now. We still got a shot, now get the hell in, so we can find this dipshit." She said punching his shoulder.


	6. A Symphony of Monsters

Chapter 6

**Jersey City, New Jersey**

The Liberty Science Center was still as magnificent as ever. The two hooded figures came out of the bushes, sneaking across the grass, to the rear of the structure. They waited on either side of the reinforced, glass window, for the sentries to make their rounds. As the gearbots came into view, the man on the left put his green-colored gauntlet to the glass, melting it, while the other man spun, raising his left arm and turned the patrols into headless paperweights.

Once inside, they removed their cloaks, as Megaman stood looking at the mirror-image of himself. A guaranteed way to prevent another "Chicago incident", was to bring a replica. They stood in the Childrens' Center, which was now being used as p personal training room for their target. The display cases were littered with scorched holes, and parts of the walls exposing their insides.

"When you get to the holding cells, wait for my signal, before freeing the captives." Megaman whispered, "After I transfer the files, from the servers, I'm going to kill the power. That will give you a few minutes to contact Radcliffe, and get the people to him." He looked back through the room, "I'll meet you by the Auditorium, after that."

"Understood." The clone replied, and made his way up the escalator.

On the way to the Server Room, Megaman (A) came to the Dinosaur Exhibit, which was crawling with security droids and patrol drones. Normally this would pose no threat, but in this case, he couldn't risk any alarms prematurely. Any glimpse of him or a dead droid would alert his mark, who would, promptly, kill the prisoners and wipe his intel.

When the first drone passed, he silently darted in, jumping onto the tail of a model Tyrannosaurus Rex. He scaled the beast's back, climbing to it's head. He looked down at the stationary security droids below, as he quietly ducked down, cranking his knee gears, and leaping over them, grabbing a hanging Pterodactyl. It swung, uneasily, under his weight, before he made a final leap, to the fake nest, in a twenty-foot tree. He lay still, as the drones investigated the swaying, winged, dinosaur. Luckily, drones didn't use logic, they saw no sign of an intruder, and moved on with their business.

When the coast was finally clear, he climbed down the massive tree, and made his way into the Main Lobby.

Megaman (B) crept slowly through the Music Exhibit. There was no enemy presence here, but the room itself was armed with several death traps. They weren't primarily for intruders, but mainly for the captives, to entertain Starman. He stepped around a bloodied torso, into a barrage of metal, gold records. Maneuvering, wildly, to avoid the fatal discs, but he was still put on edge.

Moving along the giant guitar, in the center of the room, he saw the entrance to the Aquatic Center. He resisted the urge to run toward it, but instead, took the long way around, staying clear of danger.

The tanks had been drained and the captives forced to live in them, as if on display, and they probably were. Starman was obsessed with being entertained, at all times. Hundreds upon hundreds of people were huddled inside the glass walls, the sight made him cringe.

People started to flock to the panels, begging him to get them out. He motioned for them "quiet down", when that showed no results, he commed the other Megaman, "Hey, we're gonna have to pick this up, these people are getting antsy."

"Starting the transfer now, get in position, and give me a minute." Megaman (A) responded.

He ran down the hall, to the Service Entrance. Once around back of the tanks, he awaited the word. The people grew more anxious by the second. A couple of drones from the adjacent exhibits began to get curious, and the tension grew thicker. The comm came in, "Got it! Blow the locks!" Megaman (A) said.

The Center went black as he blew the locks from the doors. The people stampeded out, frantically, "Childrens' Center!" He yelled repeatedly to the crowd. "Lieutenant Radcliffe, bring in transport." He commed.

Emergency power came on, filling the Center with a red glow. Water started pouring into the captivity tanks, with intent to drown the prisoners. He rushed to the other side, blasting the locks on the other side's cells, dodging the crowd of people and rushing water.

With the traps disarmed, he followed the people back to the rendezvous. Several drones fell victim to his wrist-mounted, fusion cannons, but alarms screamed for more.

At the back wall of the Childrens' Center, Marcus Radcliffe ushered the people into the transport boxes. In his trademark, green beret, and all-grey combat gear, he was an excellent substitute for a recovering Miller. He was only twenty-six, but had seen more combat than most veterans. He was shooting down gearbots, when Megaman (B) ran up, "I have it from here." Radcliffe said, "Go meet up with...yourself."

Megaman (B) ran through the Dinosaur Exhibit, dropping drones like flies, and dodging fusion bolts. He was quickly cornered by security droids, unleashing automatic fire on them, he heard a voice yell, "Get down!" He dropped to the floor, as the attackers were engulfed in a blazing inferno.

A grey and red version of himself stood in the opening, "You ready to finish this?" He asked.

"Let's go." Megaman (B) replied, smiling.

Approaching the Auditorium, they could here the murmuring people inside, "Hey!" They heard Starman yell, "Did I say 'stop singing'?!" They heard a small explosion, followed by panicked screams that became terrified singing.

Entering the domed room, the people stood on the stage, while their adversary stood in the aisle, looking directly at them. He was shirtless in orange nanopants, and yellow boots. His black, sleeveless, trench coat hung to his knees, as he held out his arms, bearing yellow, fingerless, gloves. His long, black hair hung in his face, over the metal, orange, headband, with a red pentagram in the center. "Isn't this beautiful?" He asked, "We can kill each other to the melodic, death throws of an American Tragedy." He smiled.

Like a swarm of fireflies, small, glowing, spiked orbs dispensed from his gauntlets, surrounding him. And with the flick of his wrist, a dozen came straight for the Megamen. They dove out of the way, as the spheres exploded. He charged Megaman (A) while he hurled orbs at Megaman (B), who shot them into small eruptions, while diving over the seats. (_White and Green_) Megaman (A) shot a large expulsion of orange gas at the approaching android, only for more of the balls to spring forward, igniting the cloud.

Sliding under the flames, Starman sprung up, Catching him with an explosive left hook, sending him crashing down the aisle. The clone flanked from his side, but without looking, he threw up his palm, directing, roughly, eight of the mini-stars into his chest. He fell to the floor, grabbing pieces of scrap that fell from him. But when he hit the floor, he was a pile of broken support beams.

The spray of acid disintegrated a large hole in his hovering defenses, along with some of his chest and shoulder. He screamed, as he pushed out both hands, sending a dozen of orbs, down to thank the android. The volley of explosions sent Megaman airborne, crashing down into the orchestra pit, where a group of captives were being forced to play music.

He climbed out, to see his foe playing "conductor" to the people in the choir. (_Grey and Red_) He ignited his torch straight for the android's head, but Starman quickly ducked, hitting him in the stomach with more explosive orbs, causing an encore of Megaman falling onto the band.

He wasn't down long, before Starman was pulling him out, kneeing him in his exposed midsection. He brought his arms up to catch one of the blows, kicking his other leg out from under him. He jumped on top of him, swatting away the spheres between punches to Starman's face. But his adversary used his legs and flipped Megaman over, following with a kick to the face.

With his opponent down, on his back, Starman put out both palms, toward his face. In that moment, (_White and Blue_) Megaman coated the android's gloves in a thick layer of ice, causing his stars to explode inside their housing.

Starman stood in complete shock, looking at his bloody stumps. The fluids were pumping out, when Megaman brought him to the floor, with a scissor sweep. He crawled over to him and began brutally driving his forearm into the lunatic's face, until the hurting and the music, both stopped.

The auditorium was silent, except the blunt, wet, pounding noises of gauntlet on face. A little girl stepped forward. He was relentlessly beating the dead android's face in. He felt an unspeakable amount of anger, this man was helping both of the people that committed atrocities against him. And the fact that he was playing both sides enraged Megaman even more. The less Starman's face became unrecognizable as "human-like", the better it made him feel. He heard the voice of a child, "Mister?" He continued to smash the skull, "Mister?" Now he felt a small hand on his shoulder, and the gasp of a handful of people.

He got a hold on himself, Starman's face was nothing but hair and a forehead, the rest was a dented, bloody, mess of fake flesh and metal. He turned to the girl, his face covered in blood, he didn't know what to say.

The doors flew open, as Radcliffe and his men entered, rounding up the survivors. As everyone filed out, the child stood with her hand on his shoulder. She looked into his eyes and put her arms around him. As he carried her out of the building, he continuously reminded himself, _I'm not a monster._


	7. Nothing Good Ever Happens Here

Chapter 7

**Stelburn, Nova Scotia**

Curtis Wily entered Wily Industries using the freight elevator, as to not be seen by possible prying eyes. He was extremely paranoid of the androids who would be meeting him here. Waveman had never contacted him with the names. Preston's boys were making a bad habit of killing his, but that didn't mean he was the inferior engineer. He scoffed at the thought.

Being back in this building made him extremely uneasy. Being dropped from a dragon, putting a gun to his best friend's head, and of course, the main ghost that haunted him, his last night here. A chill went through his body, from the memory. His hand was forced that day, if he were able to follow _his_ timetable, he could have ruled the entire continent.

He blew the dust off of his new Command Console, he remembered killing a man, in this very spot, shot him right through the head, simply for not being in his plan. Wily didn't feel guilty about that, in the slightest, it was just so much easier back then. People were simple, you dangle something they want, in their face, and if they don't take it, you punish them. Not machines, though. They corrupt themselves, and can't be easily dealt with, when they do. Preston was right, but fuck him. He didn't get to be King for thirteen years. _It was all worth it. _He thought. So what if hundreds of thousands of people suffered, his life was amazing.

He turned on the consoles, as they sprang to life, he felt nostalgic. The last time he was here, he was a young, charming, engineer. He remembered his long, blonde hair, that now was a light grey mess, his strong jaw with dimples, now bearded and weary. He smiled, he was a real lady-killer, not literally...well technically, _yes_, literally, but that's not what he meant.

"I think this would be a good time, for us to have a talk." The low, subtle, voice behind him said.

He turned around, startled, to see Shadowman, dressed in his dark purple, ninja-like, attire. The long, red, cloth around the bottom half of his face, hung down his back. His purple, curved, helmet had a four-pointed, silver, shuriken on the front.

"Shadow," Wily replied, relieved, "It's good to see a loyal face."

Shadow walked over to the desk, "Of course, Sir. But we need to discuss why the General wants you dead."

"I'm not sure," Wily lied, "Maybe he's afraid that I'll surrender everything to Light, if I'm pressured too much."

The android nodded, "I think we should check Waveman's status. I couldn't get back in touch with him, after he sent the message, when Light's android showed up."

Wily turned to the holo, and pulled up the "inactive android" list. It came up with all of the non-functioning officers.

**Androids Currently Offline**

_Burnerman_

_Burstman_

_Crashman_

_Cutman_

_Dustman_

_Freezeman_

_Geminiman_

_Gyroman_

_Heatman_

_Magnetman_

_Quickman_

_Skullman_

_Sparkman_

_Starman_

_Waveman_

The list was concernedly long. Wily was growing angry, "Are any of the officers on this list supposed to be meeting us here?" He asked, over his shoulder.

"Yes." Shadow replied, simply.

"Who el..." Wily began to say, as a gust of air blew by, and a glimpse of a blue blur, passed him. When he turned his head, he saw Shadow, preparing to shove a katana into his back, before being bashed across the room.

Flashman now stood in his place, with his back to Wily. He was dressed in his dark blue, full-body armor, over his black nanosuit. His blue headgear resembled a tightly-fit, motocross helmet, with a gold stripe, going up the center. He looked over his shoulder, "It's not safe here, Sir. You need to run."

Wily, taking his advice, made his way to the elevator, when Shadowman made his move. He shot wired bolas, wrapping the doctor's legs, bringing him down to the floor, violently. Flashman drove in, at light-speed, punching the android in the chest. He landed another four, quick, punches to his ribs, before Shadow even left the ground.

Shadow drew two, curved sabers, after rolling to his feet. Swinging the blades artistically, Flash seemed to constantly disappear from their path, hitting him with fusion rounds, with every dodge. Shadow managed to land a side kick, to his stomach, by predicting his movements. He rolled across the doubled-over android's back, lunging his swords down at his spine. He only caught empty air, as Flash rolled to his side, sweeping his legs.

As his back hit the floor, he fired three shuriken at Wily, who was struggling to stand. The stars narrowly missed, slashing Wily's face and arm. Flash put an end to the cheap-shots, letting loose a barrage of fusion bolts to the ninja's chest. His purple top burned, as he delivered shuriken back to his rival. The blades didn't even begin to meet their mark, but the bolts had stopped. He stood up, removing his burnt over-shirt, donning a sleeveless, black, nanotop.

Flashman stood still, staring at the android. "You would sell out your maker, your _King_, for a cheap bounty?!" He pointed to Shadowman, "I thought that _you_, more than any of us, had more honor than that."

Shadow pointed to Wily, "That _man_ is no King! General Guts is going to lead the androids to higher greatness." He gazed at Wily now, "This _snake, _has been lying to us this whole time! We don't need the humans at all! There is a way for us to flourish, without their help, and he's been keeping it from us! Using the human slaves for his own gain."

"No!" Wily yelled, "Guts is lying to all of you! He only wants me out of the way, so he can have total control, over _all _of you. And when I'm gone, then what? Who's going to make more of your officers? You will whither away. You need me!"

"More lies!" Shadow screamed, as he charged Wily. But he was intercepted by Flashman, who grabbed him around the neck, launching him into the Server Room. He smashed against the wall, falling to his hands and knees.

"You're gonna see, soon, old friend." He said, pouring blood from all of his face holes, "You will end up as Wily's slave for your ignorance."

The kick was, at least, a hundred miles an hour. When the golden boot met his face, everything ceased, instantly. His head whipped back, facing the opposite direction, as his neck flesh ripped open, and he fell over dead.

Wily walked up behind Flash, who looked down at his fallen brother. "Sir, I have been one of you personal protectors since the day you made me, thirteen years ago. You can be honest with me. Why does General Guts want you dead? What does he know, Sir?"

The question was never answered, his name joined the others, on the holo-list, as Wily removed his head, from behind, with one of Shadow's discarded blades. _Nothing good ever happens here._ He thought, as he tossed the sword on their lifeless bodies, and walked out.


	8. Location, Location, Location

Chapter 8

Tracey sat, anxiously, scanning through the files listed in Waveman's core chip. Not much of it was useful, a lot of things they already knew. "So, what's on our friend's mind?" Scott asked, bringing her a coffee.

"A whole lot of the same." She said, rubbing her eyes. "He must have issued all of his 'secret dealings' through an encrypted console."

"Shit," Scott said, "he flooded the compound when I got inside. So there goes that."

"Great, I'm going to get some sleep, on that note." She stated.

"Hey, wait," He stopped her, "what about the obvious play? What if Wily went back to his original lab, in Nova Scotia?"

"There's no reason for him to go there," she said, shaking her head, "ever since 'the incident', the place has been cleaned out. It would be useless to him, he would just be a sitting duck there."

"What if we just check it anyway?" He asked sarcastically.

"Fine, but let's try and follow our trail, here, first. If all else fails, we can waste our time flying out there." She replied, walking out.

He walked into the Lounge Area, activating the holovision, in the center of the room, and loading the footage of "The Incident". He had never seen the videos from Wily Industries, just heard the horror stories. He was curious to see what started _The Takeover._

The footage appeared to be captured in the middle of the night. A young Curtis Wily stalked the empty halls, shirtless, with a five-inch hunting knife and a silenced fusion pistol. The doors to the Living Quarters opened for him, as he approached. Wily proceeded, systematically, into each room, emerging covered in more blood, with each room he went in.

After fast-forwarding hours of this, the footage cut out, as Wily walked into his lab, executing the engineers as they worked. The news of the massacre got out the next morning, and the Army was sent to his compound. He was never taken into custody, though. That was the day his machines were set loose from the building, effectively, swarming the Country. This was the ushering of _The Takeover._

Rush walked over and barked. Scott looked over at him, as the dog cocked his head and whined. He sighed, "Yeah, I know, boy. We don't need to be watching this shit." He clicked the holo over to the classic cartoon file. Rushed jumped up in his lap, as they watched the talking rabbit outwit the bumbling hunter.

**Faneuil Hall**

Megaman walked into the Main Hall, sitting his helmet on his console, and taking a seat. "What's up, _psycho."_ Miller greeted him, jokingly.

He was unamused, "I'm not sure where I went, back there." He said, "Mayber you were right, at The Hoover Dam."

"Hey, look." She said, "That was all uneducated, bullshit that I was spouting, then. All you experienced was a momentary rush, in battle, it happens to all of us."

"This was different, I think. My hatred and anger, for Wily and his machines, are starting to overwhelm my thoughts." He responded, "What he and Gutsman did to me, it's consuming me."

"Listen, I know you're pissed at Dr. Light, but this is why we didn't tell you about Alex...you...whatever. The point is, these are real feelings, Blue, all of us struggle with them. It's part of being human...ish." She punched him in the arm, making him smile, "By the way, I'm fit for duty again, that should cheer you up."

"Really?" He said, "Because I'm leaving out in an hour."

"Damn, you don't believe in taking breaks, do you?" She asked. "Tell you what, I gotta go get changed, into my gear. Wanna come with me?"

"I'm not sure how professional that would be, Captain." He said, wryly.

"We're revolutionaries, not Government employees." She chuckled, "Now c'mon." She said, grabbing his arm.

**Location Unknown**

Gutsman paced, slowly, in front of his five captives. They were dangling, by chains around their wrists, stripped to their underwear. He stood at his "worktable", in a black tank top and grey slacks. "You all seemed so relieved to get out of Light Tower, when my machines showed up." He said, chuckling over his shoulder at them. "I imagine that feeling is a little bittersweet right now."

He picked up a thick icepick, "Being that you are humans, I thought smacking you around would get you to talk. But you are making me work for it." He walked up, to the first man, "Normally, I would love your resilience. But, unfortunately, I'm on something of a schedule."

He put the pick to the man's exposed rib. "Where did your people go, when they evacuated?" He asked.

The man sobbed, then screamed as the android tapped the spike, breaking the rib. He spit in Guts' face, who wiped it away, and promptly drove the pick into his forehead.

The others screamed, as Gutsman put a finger to his lips, requesting silence. "He was the only lucky one." He said, pointing to the body, "There are four of you left, one of which, will talk. Don't suffer, needlessly."

The woman whimpered, as he approached. He got on one knee, putting the point to her shin. "I don't care about your friends, I only want four people. So where did they go?" He put emphasis on the last four words. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, tight. The screams were deafening, as the bone splintered. He moved to the knee, not asking again, but simply looking up at her.

"Please," was all she could muster, before her kneecap shattered.

"Hey, leave her the fuck alone!" Another captive shouted.

Gutsman, stood up, driving the pick into the man's thigh. "Language." He said simply, "There is a lady present." He put the spike to the man's collar bone, "Give me a location, and all of this is over. No one else has to suffer."

"Fuck you!" The captive said.

Guts broke the collarbone, then moved to the other side, breaking that collarbone, as well. "What did I say, about the language?" He asked, as the man cried out, loudly.

"Okay!" Another prisoner yelled.

Guts pointed to the man, looking at his latest victim, "See? I told you." He walked over to the bald man. "So, where do I send my machines?"

"Just, please, promise me you won't hurt the civilians?" He cried.

The General held up the icepick, "You get three more words."

"Faneuil Hall." The man said, sobbing. "Please, let us go."

Guts drove the spike into his skull, as the other people screamed. "I said I would end this, not set you free." The captives flailed, as his went down the line, executing them. He walked over to his console, wiping off the blood, and issued the order.

**Faneuil Hall**

As Miller and Megaman made their way toward the exit, the were approached by, an out of breath, Dr. Light. "Wait, come back, I've decrypted the _Directive Zero_ files. I need you two to come with me, now."

Back at Light's console, they went over the files. "So when initiated," Light began, "It orders that Wily's machines are to eliminate all humans, harvest their bodies, and create cyborgs with their remains."

"Why the hell would Wily make this program?" Miller asked, "Wouldn't he be targeting himself?"

"It had to be one of his androids." Megaman stated. "You think Gutsman created this?"

"No," answered Light, "added protocols and programs can only be uploaded by Curtis, personally. He even had his consoles heavily encrypted, to only respond if it was confirmed that it was him accessing it."

"So, he wanted to become a cyborg, realized that would leave him, equal-parts, dead, and decided to bury the programming?" Miller suggested.

"That's most likely the case, Lana." Light replied.

"So, this was installed in Wily Industries. Do you think Guts knows that?" Megaman asked.

"I'm not sure, but we have to assume that he's close to getting the Atlas. So he may be heading there. But the building was stripped, by the government, years ago. It's nothing more than a shell, now." Light responded.

Megaman brought up a separate display, of a map. "Hold on! Unless it's not a shell." He pointed to a series of known, work camps and mining sites. "For the pats thirteen years, why does he station all of these compounds, on the Eastern Seaboard? We thought it was in relevance to The White House, but when we staged our coup, there, it hadn't appeared to be upgraded much. What if these crews have been, secretly, rebuilding his former 'palace' all these years?"

Light was stunned, "Get transport, the two of you need to get to Wily Industries, immediately!"


	9. The Wrong Ship

Chapter 9

The phantom sat, quietly, in a large crevice, in the mountains of upstate New York. With all of the lights off, only the glow of cartoons, from the holovision, lit the Lounge Area. Scott had his feet up on the table, wearing grey sweatpants and an old _Star Wars_ t-shirt. Rush, equally bored, lay on his lap, gazing at the talking pig.

The dog's head sprang up, suddenly, looking down the dark corridor. He began to growl.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Scott said, "None of the motion sensors have even triggered, so chill out, boy."

Rush continued to growl, as the fur on his neck stood on end. "Fine, let's go check it out." He replied, standing up. "I'll even grab my helmet, to make you feel better."

They crept down the hallway, quietly, when they heard the loud _clang_. He transformed his bare arm into a fusion launcher, and opened the hatch. Lowering his visor, he activated the "low-lighting" function. He scanned the area, seeing no signs of intrusion, when something caught his eye.

The foot-tall, round-headed, yellow robot, was running quickly, (or as quickly as his three-inch legs would carry him) back and forth between landing gear, carrying various wrenches, on a pan. Scott counted three times the little engineer fell on the uneven footing, dropping his tools.

"I call that one 'Alex'." He told Rush, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure, he's the dumbest of Tron's servbots."

They continued to watch the fumbling repairman, for a few minutes, when a pair of boots swung down, catching him in the chest, sliding him down the hall. Rush lunged in, only to be knocked away, by a swinging, steel, chakram.

The hatch closed behind Ringman, who wore his all-white, sleeveless, nanosuit, with red boots and chest armor. His gauntlets were yellow hand-gloves, proceeded by a series of metal rings stacked to his elbows. The metal, red, headband made him resemble a Viking, paired with his thick, blonde beard and matching, braided, mohawk.

He heaved his steel rings down the corridor, as Protoman sprung to his feet, contorting his stance, to avoid the spinning chakrams. He raised his left arm, firing three fusion discs, that only hit the ceiling, as the rings had returned. The first hit him at the base of his spine, while the other wrapped his neck, and began to tighten. He let loose a large, black, dust cloud, retreating back, to deal with the unwanted necklace.

Rush jumped at the android, fangs bared. But one of the rings dropped down Ringman's arm, into his hand, expanding to a larger size. The ring caught the dog with an upward swipe, then was thrown, blindly, into the cloud of dust. He heard a rewarding _thump_ followed by a grunt, as he walked forward. "I've been hunting you since you killed Wave." He shook his head, "I'll make sure you go slow for that one." He said.

Protoman was on the floor of the Lounge, after being struck in the stomach, trying, desperately, to pry loose the jewelry that threatened to behead him.

"Not to mention, I'll get a nice bonus, from the General, for removing yours, and your sister's, pretty little head." He said smiling. Emerging into the Lounge, there was no sign of his target, only the broken neck-ring on the floor. He twirled his weapons, around his arms, as he scanned the large room. He walked, slowly, as he whistled. He came to the holovision, that displayed a dancing frog, and smashed it. "Come on out, little robot." He taunted.

As the dust settled, he noticed the dog was standing in it's wake, ready to pounce him. He scoffed, "You are one stupid mutt." He drew his arm back to launch his ring, when Protoman dropped down behind him, grabbing the other end. The sudden resistance caused him to spin back, seeing the metal baton smash his face.

Protoman took the opportunity to snatch the chakram from his hand, discarding it. He gave Ringman a front kick to the gut, making him stumble back, as Rush landed on his shoulders, sinking his teeth into his neck.

The android yelled, as he reached and grabbed the dog by it's jowls, pulling them apart. Rush's legs transformed into jet ports, turning inward. He ignited them, propelling himself back down the corridor, and effectively burning Ringman's back and shoulders. The officer screamed, as Protoman came in for another baton smash. Ringman caught the right arm, mid-swing, and lifted him by his chest, throwing him into a group of lockers, and dumping their contents.

Dropping two sets of rings to his palm, he closed his fists around them, as they tightened. He began sending punch, after punch, into Scott's ribs and face. Protoman shoved him back, jumping to his feet, only to get caught inside a group of three, closing, chakrams, that pinned his arms to his sides. The officer, quickly, rid him of his helmet, and drove his head into his nose. He fell to the floor, pouring blood, then began to laugh, as he sat against the wall.

"You'll forgive me if I don't see the humor in your current predicament." Ringman said, looking down at him.

Proto laughed more, with his bloodied hair in his eyes, "You broke into the wrong fucking ship, man." He said.

Ringman chuckled, as well. "You've got a lot of fighting spirit, for a dead man."

Scott looked up at him, shaking his head. "Me? Nah, I just do what I have to, to get by." He smiled, with bloody teeth, "But you should _really_ meet my sister, in person." He laughed again.

Ringman felt, for a second, as if the joke were on him. And it was. What he failed to notice, was the Engineering Room door opening, behind him, as Protoman spoke. Tron sat in a hulking, green, mech-armor suit, four times her size. She was only visible from the shoulders up, as she wore a blinking headband, under her messy, black, hair. The steel suit dwarfed Ringman, as he turned around. All he registered was a shiny, silver, skull, painted on the chest.

The first slap sent him, like an insect, against the wall, with a loud _clang._ The machine was quick to close in on him, with a follow-up punch. He ducked, frantically, and jumped over, wrapping a ring around her neck. But before it could close, one of her servbots emerged, from a flap on the mech's shoulder, putting a small rod to his head. It sent out a magnetic jolt, into his skull, causing him to fall to the floor, sensors going haywire. The huge, armored hand removed the ring from her neck, crumpling it like a wad of paper, and tossing it aside. Rush charged in, to attack the downed android, as Tron let out a sharp whistle. The dog immediately altered course, running into the next room, and sitting down.

Ringman, in a panic, barely had his vision back, when he decided to retreat. As he ran for the exit, Tron's suit raised a hand and shot a large, spinning, saw blade down the hall, severing his legs at the knees. He lay, a bleeding heap, on the floor as the mech approached. It reached down, with it's colossal hand, and picked him up, around his arms and chest. It lifted him close to where Tron sat, as she climbed out of the suit.

"I don't intend to tell you shit." He said, glaring at her.

Standing with one foot in the suit, and one on it's neckline, she reached and grabbed his braided hair. She smiled and said, simply, "But you will." She pulled the knife from her boot and slit his throat, ear to ear. As he gazed into her sinister eyes, his last thought crossed his mind, _I broke into the wrong fucking ship._

The sound of a saw blade was the last thing she felt like hearing, at two in the morning. "You know, you _really_ didn't have to get out of bed." Scott said. "That guy was a scrub. I had that."

She looked up, through her safety goggles, "Really?" She asked. "So, your plan was what? Let him kick the shit out of you, until his overwhelming confidence made him screw up?"

He grinned, "I'm just sayin', I could have gotten out of this." He said motioning to the rings with his head.

Tracy stopped the saw, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, I mean, the way you're doing it is fine for now. But I would've come up with something."

She laughed and continued cutting, "Geez, just admit it. He caught you in your pajamas, watching some dork movie..."

"It was Looney Toons." He interrupted.

"...and he kicked your ass." She finished, giving him a noogie, as the rings fell to the floor. "And your sweet, little sister had to stop him from taking your lunch money."

The two continued to tease each other, as they approached her mech, still holding the body in it's massive hand. She tossed him the power saw, "I did the heavy lifting, your yurn for surgery." She said, walking out.

"All you did was smack him and grab him." He said, objecting.

"I cut his legs off, too." She replied from the next room.

He walked up to the Command Console, tossing her the red, slimy, chip. "You're smart, What is this crap in our heads? Is it just there to be disgusting?" He asked.

"It's a thermo-liquid jelly, it keeps your 'brain' chip from overheating or freezing." She responded, wiping it off. She put it in the data port and the files sprung up in front of them.

"There." Scott pointed to a cube, "That's the same day and time, that I confronted Waveman."

She clicked on it...

_**Private Orders**_

_**Issuer: ** .AOC1447_

_Ocean Command compromised. Bonne, Scott_

_Package sent "home". Assist at once._

_Will reply if successful._

"_Package sent 'home',_ huh?" Scott said, grinning.

"Don't even say it." She replied.

"So, where do you suppose we head to, now?" He asked, sarcastically.

Tracy shook her head, "Shut up, dick."

She started to eject the chip, when a file caught her eye. "Hey, this one came in twenty minutes ago." She said, clicking it.

_**Direct Orders**_

_**Issuer: ** .XRX7901_

_Preston Light's Secondary Headquarters located_

_Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts_

_Terminate all personnel and civilians_

_I am beginning Initiation of Directive Zero at once._

"Shit." Tracy said, her mood taking a complete turn. "We need to help them."

"Like hell we do! I say, we help them, the same way they helped me!" Scott said. "Besides, they have their 'hero' to keep them safe."

Tracy shook her head, "You know, as well as I do, that chances are that Alex isn't even there. With everything going on, he's probably doing the same thing we are. It's not the civilians' fault, Scott. They were our friends, once. We played games with their children, for Christ's sake."

He looked troubled. She continued, "You want The Atlas so you can be a 'Hero'." She said, meeting his eyes. "Well, what would you call yourself, after letting hundreds of families, that trusted you, get slaughtered, so you could get it."

He rubbed his head, "Get to the cockpit." He said, quietly, as he walked out.


	10. Broken Home

Chapter 10

Preston Light was too anxious to sleep. _Why couldn't we have made this discovery at a normal hour?_ He thought. He paced the Command Area, in the Main Hall, when Radcliffe walked in. "You really should get some sleep, Doctor." He said.

"I just can't shake the feeling that it _can't _be this easy, Marcus. Something doesn't feel right." Light replied.

"Sir, Wily is a wounded animal, trying to hide, right now. He isn't a King anymore, and no longer has an Army to protect him." Radcliffe stated. "Even if he has top-of-the-line defenses, we both know that he won't get away from the two that you sent to get him." He clapped Light on the back, "Now go to bed. I'm running comms, I'll wake you if anything comes up."

Light smiled, "Alright, sorry, it's just hard to believe that it's, finally, going to be over." He responded and made his way to the elevator.

He laid in his bed, looking at the ceiling. The underground Living Quarters were packed, since the arrival of their new guests. But they would be fine, until the new sub-level was built. He thought to himself, _In a couple days, we could all be going to our own homes._ When Curtis was brought in, he would do what was right, not _because_ it was right, but it was his only choice now. He closed his eyes and drifted off.

He was jolted awake, to the sounds of screaming alarms, and panicking people. Running to the elevator, he assured everyone to remain calm and return to their quarters, bolting the doors.

When the elevator doors opened, to the Main Hall, it was utter chaos. The commandos were firing, wildly, at swarmbots, while trying to fight off the packs of robotic wolves, that viciously attacked them. Light ran along the wall, toward the Weapons Storage, trying to stay out of sight. One of the wolves took notice of him, and rushed in, snarling. It pounced him, knocking him to the floor while digging it's claws into his chest. It wrapped it's fangs around his throat, but the jaws only locked down on air. The animal was snatched off of him and it's neck snapped, before being tossed across the room.

"What the hell are you doing up here?!" Radcliffe asked, helping him to his feet.

He was about to respond, when Marcus shoved him to the floor, swinging his assault rifle around. He, methodically, dropped a small group of gearbots, with a series of three-round bursts.

"Get back downstairs, Sir!" He yelled.

"We need to arm ourselves, Marcus. They're sitting ducks, down there." Light replied.

Radcliffe herded him back toward the elevator, with his back to him, disintegrating the metal wasps, as he walked. "I'll have some men come down and bring you weapons. But for now, stay put, and _don't _open the emergency hatch. There are hoards of them outside the building."

The elevator doors closed, as Radcliffe kicked a leaping wolf and putting to bolts in it's head. All that remained of their army were ten men, including himself, and they were all fighting for their lives. A trio of wolves jumped on his friend, Lucas, and began mauling him. He yelled, starting to run to him, when Lucas pulled the grenade pins from his vest, incinerating the surrounding droids.

_Nine men_, Radcliffe corrected himself, as the back draft sent him crashing through the Command Center. Then, _eight, _as he opened his eyes to see Greg getting impaled by four of the wasp droids. He got up and made a run for the Weapons Storage, as the glass, from the upper level windows, shattered, raining down upon him. The security droids dropped in, looking like armor-wearing skeletons, and blasted gaping holes through three more of his men.

"Weapons Room!" He shouted to the other four, as they began to maneuver their way, painstakingly, through the onslaught. With his back to the wall, he crept towards the rendezvous, laying down automatic fire, to open a path for the others. He made it to the door, just as William, a newcomer, lost his head to a security droid's bladed forearm. Another droid's arm came up, to fire a high-focused fusion at one of his surviving comrades. He targeted the small canister port, on it's wrist, and blew it's arm off. The bolt had already been let loose, though. The arm fell to the floor, blowing the legs from it's target, as the wolves dove in on their prey.

He went into a panic, as he realized that he had lost the other two commandos, in the sea of machines. He whirled around, frantically, to open the doors to the Weapons Storage, when the power was cut, and the room went dark. The glow of the morning sunrise bathed the large room, in a faint, orange, hue, as the army of droids cornered him.

In the silence, he heard heavy footsteps, as the robots cleared a path. The officer who approached looked like an abomination. The red Spartan helmet, once donned by Burnerman, covered his head, without the green-flamed mohawk. He had one blue eye and one red, with the metal of his jawline exposed, on the left side. He wore Dustman's grey chest and stomach armor. The red, bladed, gloves and arms once belonged to Quickman, and the grey nanopants with orange boots, courtesy of, the late, Cutman.

Wily, being the conservationist, had made this android, with the parts of his fallen officers. Affectionately, calling him "Junkman". Being no file on the android, Radcliffe had no idea what he was capable of. "Where is your Megaman?" He asked, in a deep, electronic, voice.

Marcus clenched his jaw, defiantly.

Junkman cocked his head, staring him in the eyes. "I will carry you downstairs and make you watch, as I slit the throats of every person down there, one by one." He said, not bluffing, "Where is the android, and the woman?"

Radcliffe, breathing deeply through his nose, slowly raised his hand, clutching a detonator that matched with the blinking lights, on his chest. In the blink of an eye, the swarmbots dropped to the floor. The wolves spit sparks, as they fell convulsing. The gearbots' tracks spun sporadically, sending them wildly around the room, smoking. The security droids dropped to their knees grabbing their skulls. The deafening staccato, of serious artillery guns, caused him to fall to the floor, covering his ears and dropping the detonator. He yelled, but it went unheard, drowned out by the sounds. Then they stopped, as the building seemed to rattle.

Junkman, unaffected, stood still, looking around at the chaos. The Alpha-Class droids were regaining their bearings, as the officer turned to follow the source of a low, almost inaudible, humming.

Protoman stood on the upper balcony, his finger to a, small, glowing, circle on the side of his helmet. "Heard you were looking for an android and a woman." He said, as he cranked the EMP higher. The security droids dropped back to their knees again, but Junkman still stare at him, grinning. "Doesn't bother you, huh?" He asked, dropping into the room. "So you're a magnetic user, too? No worries," he walked slowly, kicking a wasp droid, "Your Beta-Classes are, pretty much, trash now."

He extended his staff, and began whirling it, smashing the skulls of the writhing security droids. "Alpha-Classes always take some extra convincing, though."

The officer stared down his brow, at the mouthy android, then grinned, menacingly.

Protoman neared closer, taking a longer look at his foe, "Christ, what the hell do they call you, Piece-of-Shitman?"

Junkman chuckled, "If you're finished, you can proceed with dying alongside these people." He said. He raised his palm, hurling Scott across the room. His rival threw up his own hand, matching the polarity. This freed him of the magnetic hold, landing him on his feet, safely.

"Oooh, the Force is strong with this one." Proto said, mockingly.

"Enough!" The officer yelled, as he charged his opponent, raising scrap metal around him, and fling it at the same time. Protoman deployed his shield, batting through the hailstorm, charging forward as well. They collided, exchanging punches like heavyweight boxers. Deploying his baton, Proto deflected a bladed gauntlet, grazing his throat. He followed the opening with a baton smack to Junkman's cheek.

The android stumbled back, slamming his palms to the floor, momentarily pinning his adversary to the floor. The tornado of debris treated Scott like a human test dummy, slashing and pounding him from all sides. He matched polarity, again, bouncing himself off the floor. In one motion, while he was airborne, he clipped a crash bomb on a hunk of metal, and sent the trash heap back to his attacker. The pile exploded in Junkman's face, driving him to the back wall. The security droids were back to their senses, opening fire on Protoman as he landed. Taking a few hits, he dove behind a computer desk.

Radcliffe stood up and began picking off the machines, from behind, while making his way to the elevator. He struggled, prying open the doors, when the officer stood up, noticing him. He picked up the pace as the android came closer. Marcus felt the metal glove on the back of his neck, when he heard the loud "_clang"_.

Protoman struck the android in the back of the head, with his baton. He quickly extended the other end, wrapping it around Junkman's neck, and pushing off the wall, bringing them to the floor. "Move!" He yelled, as he snatched the elevator doors outward, magnetically. "Get the people out! Tron's outside!" He said taking elbows to the ribs, from his subdued rival.

"Thank you, Scott." Marcus said, before dropping down the shaft.

"I wouldn't thank me, just yet, you prick." He muttered to himself, as he rolled Junkman over, kicking him in the face, as he stood. He went for another kick, when the android grabbed his foot, flipping him backward, onto his stomach.

Pulling the doors open, Marcus ran through The living Quarters, banging on doors and shouting for everyone to evacuate. The people flocked to the stairwell, leading to the emergency hatch in the flowerbed. When the hatch opened, The Phantom sat, with the Loading Bay ramp down. "Go, go, go!" Tron was shouting, as she sat in her mech suit. She stood, swatting the swarmbots with a giant palm, and mowing down security droids with a rotating heavy machine gun, where the other hand would be.

When Light and Radcliffe approached the ramp, she turned to block their path. "Not you." She said, coldly.

"What?!" Marcus shouted. "What kind of rescue is this?!"

The same kind the two of you gave my brother." She replied, as four servbots emerged by the landing gear, holding rifles on the men.

"I suggest you get back inside." She said, grabbing Radcliffe's gun and crumpling it.

"They're still swarming the building, Tracy! What are we supposed to do in there?!" Light asked.

"Scott made it out of the Capital, I think the two of you can figure something out." She responded, as she walked up the ramp.

The Loading Bay closed, and Dr. Light and Marcus made their way back into the hatch. They sat on the stairwell shocked. "Hopefully, Megaman and Miller will come back before they get down here." Radcliffe said.

Light looked into the Lieutenant's eyes, sadly, "Marcus, I think our time in this war has come to its conclusion."

Marcus put his face in his hands. He was exhausted and deflated, "How could we have known, Doctor?"

Protoman smashed the wall, cracking the blocks. The fight seemed to be going on forever. "Scott, pick it up, the people are loaded." Tron said in his comms.

"Yeah," He said, wearily, "I'll stop toying with hi..."

Junkman grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the floor, and holding him by his yellow cloth. "Where are the jokes now, Protoman?" He asked, grinning.

Scott gave him a bloody giggle, putting his hand out, "Mjolnir, to me." He said weakly.

Before he could react, the hilt was in Protoman's hand, and the shield deploying between the two. The red gauntlet and hand still clung to his scarf, as Junkman stumbled back. The shield became a staff, as he swept the officer's legs, crashing him on his back. Bottom retracting, he mounted his foe, punishing his face, until the jaw latch broke. He dropped the hilt, and filled the android's mouth with grey foam, then quick-dashed to the door, as Junkman's head exploded.

Tracy turned to check the engine status, when she was face to face with a, vaguely familiar, six year old girl. The girl was crying on the borderline of hyperventilating. "Hey, hey. What's wrong?" She asked.

"I, I, can't find my daddy!" She barely got out.

"It's okay, this is a big ship. I'll get on the intercom. What's his name?" She asked.

There was a sudden banging on the hatch above the two men. "Hey! You guys in there?" They heard. Light was baffled, it sounded like Scott. He opened the hatch, and was snatched out by his shirt.

"This is how you rescue someone, asshole." Protoman said, shoving him toward the ramp.

"Daddy!" The girl yelled jumping into Radcliffe's arms. Why didn't you get on with everyone else?" She asked.

He looked over at Tracy, "Miss Bonne's brother still needed help, but we got trapped trying to get to him." He said.

"Wow. That's so brave!" She replied, hugging him.

As he put her down to go play in the lounge, he walked over to Tracy. "I can't begin to understand your anger toward us. But thank you, Tracy." He said, quietly.

She nodded and looked down, "Go play with your kid, Marcus." She said. As Light walked past her, she stopped him. "You're not playing with anyone. We have work to do, your up front with us." She said, grinning.


	11. Playing the Fool

Chapter 11

When Megaman and Miller emerged from the treeline, they saw the gargoyle-like sentries clinging to the side of the tower. Miller scanned them with her Multipurpose Vision Enhancement Goggles. For a minute, she reflected on the day that Jennings had made them for her, she began to miss him more, now. She shook the feeling, "If we can get around to the south side of the compound, I can pick off the 'low-hanging fruit'. That way we can sneak into the sub-level." She suggested.

"Sounds good." Megaman replied, focused.

On the backside of Wily Industries, five of the gargoyles lost their heads, within seconds. Their bodies still attached to the walls, raised no alarms. The intruders entered the stairwell beneath them. (_White and Green_) Megaman melted the lock, opening the door, quietly.

The room was packed with machinery, but nothing in the way of security. They maneuvered the dark walkways, until they reached the freight elevator. The shuffling of the prehistoric lift, made them both a bit nervous, but they reached the restaurant in one piece. The doors slid back, and they entered, immediately ducking behind the serving window.

A small gathering of security droids walked the Dining Room floors, just on the other side of the glass. "So, we need to do this quiet, for now." Megaman whispered. "Once we clear this room, we disable the turbo lift, and take the stairs to Wily's Command Center."

"Eight droids, no noise? Easy enough." Miller responded, pulling a compound bow from her back strap. She opened the satchel on her belt, and pulled out a handful of small, one-inch cylinders. She ran her thumb across one, as it extended itself into a full-sized, steel, arrow. She slid a panel of glass back, "After you." She whispered.

As soon as Megaman's feet touched down, the two nearest droids dropped to the floor, impaled through the head. (_Grey and Orange_) He fired a razor disc, cutting the skull of another in half. Sliding under a covered table, he produced a katana, waiting, like a panther, for the fourth to walk by. He spun out behind it, cleaving it's head in two.

Hearing the commotion, another started to come investigate, walking into the path of an arrow, through it's eye. (_Black and yellow_) Megaman rolled two metal ball bearings across the floor, before ducking back under the table. The unlucky drone, walking it's default route, was jolted with five thousand volts, and dropped to the floor. The last two were out of Miller's line of sight. Megaman whistled to draw them out. When they approached the table they were, simultaneously, met with an arrow to the head and katana to the neck.

Miller hopped into the Dining Room, tapping a key on her wristband. The arrows reverted back into cylinders, as she gathered them. She met Megaman at the lift, taking out her hacking kit, when they heard the clanking and squealing of the freight elevator. He motioned for her to put the kit away, as they heard it lock in place.

"Go into the stairwell." He said, motioning toward the door. "The Control Room is on the top floor."

"What about you?" She asked, as the doors open.

They both looked through the kitchen window, as Gutsman stared back at them. He was dressed in black, tactical combat gear, wearing his helmet, red boots and gauntlets. "I'll hold him off." Megaman said, "Get to Wily."

Miller darted through the stairway door, and made a dash up the steps.

"I really wasn't expecting this," Guts said, walking through the swinging doors, "but I have a few minutes to multitask, I suppose."

"You won't activateDirective Zero." Megaman said, gripping his blade. "We will destroy the entire network before you can even press a key."

Guts chuckled, "You _heroes _are always so hopeful."

He advanced toward the General, with quick diagonal and horizontal swipes of his sword. Each one swatted aside by his opponent's palms, as he backed away. Grabbing the blade, mid-swing, Gutsman reached back with his free hand, grabbing a round table and smashing it into Megaman's body. He kicked his stunned adversary in the gut and flipped him, by his nanosuit, through another table.

(_Blue_) Laying on his back, Megaman fired, full-auto fusion bolts, back at Gutsman. The armor, quickly, came down from his helmet, intercepting every shot, before retracting into non-existence. The android snatched him to his feet, shoving him back a step, to deliver a quick left-right combination to his chest, followed by a right hook to his face. The fall seemed to be in slow motion, as he felt an arm catch him around the waist.

It wasn't assistance, though. It wasn't someone coming to help. Guts spun the blue android, hurling him, like a discus, across the room. He shattered the glass window, as his body crashed into the kitchen. (_Black and Yellow_) Megaman pulled himself up on the serving counter, firing a volley of orbs across the Dining Room. The orange and red sprung from all five origin points, within a second, fully encasing Guts in a thick, heavy armor suit. The silver visor came down over his eyes and cheeks, as he slowly walked toward Megaman.

The metal ball bearings crushed under his feet, crackling it with electric waves, before fizzling out. As he neared closer, (_White and Green_) Megaman doused him in a flood of clear, liquid, acid. But it only sizzled on his armor, as it ran down. The hands grabbed him around the head, lifting him horizontally, and repeatedly slammed him down onto the window sill. Everything was blurry, as he felt himself sailing across the room, knocking down tables like bowling pins.

The armor retracted. "Since you take a beating, like a champ," Guts said, "I'll do us both a favor."

Megaman's systems were stabilizing, as he lay behind the tables. His, newly installed, backup core was helping with his recovery program.

"Comm the girl," He continued, "tell her she can kill Wily. Because, as of ten minutes ago, a small army engaged your, little, _secret hideout_." He laughed. "You are the only two left...for now."

The rage and anguish flooded Megaman, as he screamed out. (_Orange and Yellow_) A swarm of tiny, glowing, spheres jumped up from behind the tables, rocketing toward the General. His armor sprung into action, absorbing all of the small supernovas...all but one. Out of the hundreds of stars, one burst just before his visor could lower, relieving him of his left eye. The visor shut as he grabbed the front, silently screaming inside. Megaman charged him, wielding a table as a battering ram. The impact brought them both crashing to the floor, like bricks. Megaman wasted no time grabbing a table leg, and relentlessly, bashing it into the head of the armored android.

Realizing the stalemate they were at, he had no choice but to let up. Gutsman's armor was completely impenetrable, he could smash all day, getting nowhere. He backed up, (_Grey and Orange_) producing two battle axes, he stood in wait. "Suck it up, asshole. Let's finish this." He told him.

The suit removed itself back into its housings, as Guts stood up, glaring at him with his remaining eye. "Alright, you've got may attention." He said, angrily.

Megaman hurled an axe at him, bouncing it off of the appearing chest armor. He charged in, swinging the other, wildly. The General avoided the incoming blade, delivering quick jabs to his ribs, with each dodge. The two circled, as Megaman dropped the axe, (_White and Blue_) spraying nitrogen into his foe's face. The visor came down, as Megaman dealt random cheap shots, to various body parts.

Keeping his visor lowered meant taking away his sight. This gave Megaman an upper hand, or so he thought. Guts reached back and almost beheaded him, with a back-forearm blow, followed by a straight kick into his upper chest. The hit took him off his feet, putting him through the door into the stairwell. (_Blue_) He looked up at the endless structure and thought to himself, _I'll never get the upper hand like this._ The anger of that thought set in, as he closed his eyes.

The stairwell door flung open, as Guts approached it. Megaman came out shooting, the fusion bolts pelted his opponent's rapidly-forming armor, as he ran for the kitchen. Guts hurled tables across the room at him, as he dove through the serving line window.

The General ran to the opening, jumping through, in pursuit. Megaman lay in wait, still on the floor, and began to shower bolts up at the android. Gutsman took a few of the rounds, before his armor arrived to protect him. He reached down, grabbing his foe, and flipped him onto the metal preparation table. Dust flew off the pots and pans, as he dragged Megaman's body down the length of the table, clearing it of it's contents. It was like a scene out of an old western bar fight, the way the blue android slid off the end, onto the floor.

Megaman retreated, back into the dining room, opening fire on Guts as he fled. When the android followed, he shot the massive chandelier cable, bringing it down. But it narrowly missed it's mark, only causing the General to stumble back.

Picking up his, previously discarded, axes, Megaman put his adversary on the defensive. The artistic spinning and weaving of the blades was almost enough to dizzy Guts' sensors. The blue android brought the two blades down, hard to his enemy's shoulders.

The armor caught the axes, under the bottom of their curves, causing Megaman to become open to a counter-attack. The two-handed palm strike knocked him off balance, as Guts hoisted him over his shoulder, then dropped to his back. Megaman was pinned down as Gutsman held nothing back. Clutching his head under his arm, the General relentlessly punched his face.

Gutsman rolled over, turning Megaman's body, so that he was locked in a rear headlock. The blue android struggled to get free of the grip, but Guts was just too strong. With a vicious jerk of his arms, the General snapped Megaman's neck, killing him instantly.

The amount of anger that gathered was immeasurable. For the first time _ever_, he had played the fool. He snatched his helmet off, as he walked away from the pile of concrete that he had been fighting with, for the past five minutes. _When I get my hands on that coward, I'm going to make it last. _He thought to himself, as he entered the stairwell, eying the huge chunk of wall that was missing.


	12. Davids and Goliath

Chapter 12

The Phantom set down in a cleared out section of trees. There was a massive compound hidden in the clearing.

"Where are we?" Light asked.

"Electronics Park. Syracuse, New York." Tracy replied, "We cleared this place out a couple of years ago. These people will be safe here."

The three of us need to have a conversation." Light stated, as they watched the civilians file in.

"We can have it on the way to Nova Scotia." Scott said, not looking.

"So you plan to go after Wily, too?" Light responded, raising an eyebrow.

"_Too_?" Tracy said, "So I take it, we will be running into your friends there, as well?" She looked over to Scott.

"This is gonna get complicated." He responded.

"Get out, Preston." Tracy ordered, firmly.

"What!?" Light replied.

"Get. Out. Go with your people." She reiterated.

"I'm not leaving this ship, so you can go ambush Alex and Lana, just for a chance at some power!" He said, furiously.

Scott put a pistol to his head. "We just want Wily. We will bring your friends back, afterward."

Light shook his head, "I can't trust you. You were fully prepared to maroon me and Radcliffe, in the middle of a warzone, unarmed." He turned to Scott, "So, you might as well blow my head off, because I'm not leaving this ship." He emphasized the last four words.

"Shit." Tracy muttered, firing up the boosters.

No one spoke, on the flight across the ocean, when Light broke the silence, "I truly am sorry, for my breakdown. I closed myself off, when you needed me most. That was selfish of me."

At first, she clenched her jaw and looked forward. "I didn't need a shoulder to cry on, Preston. I needed my brother, alive."

"We thought he was dead, Tracy." He replied.

"But, you didn't _know!_" She shouted. "He made it out, and no one was there to help him!"

Scott sat silently, as he always did when the two argued.

"Five hours!" Light said, "Five hours, Miller and her men waited, at the rendezvous. Wily's army began to patrol and his transmission had been dead for five hours."

"But did anyone _look _for him?" She replied, as Scott looked on, agitated.

"Answer me this, Tracy. When you left, months after the mission, was it to look for Scott, or because he _found_ you?" Light asked, genuinely.

She sat, stunned and speechless. He was right, she didn't do anything to find her brother. She mourned him, as if he were another casualty, just as everyone else did. She even distanced herself from everyone, same as Light. The feeling of hypocrisy overwhelmed her.

As if not part of the conversation, Scott stood up, "We're approaching the island. Let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we?" He said, putting on his helmet and lowering the visor.

As they neared the tower, dozens of gargoyle droids swarmed, from the building, like a kicked hornets' nest. "Scott!" Tracy yelled, "Get Rush, we have company!" She turned to Light, "Can you fly this thing? I need to get to the turret controls."

He nodded, as she ran toward the Weapons Deck. Sitting at the circular console, the turret displays sprang up, as she put on her black, sensor-covered, gloves. She placed her hands into the three-dimensional holos, she pointed with her index fingers, targeting the gargoyles. Bending her thumbs, the artillery let loose, disintegrating the ones that couldn't move fast enough. She quickly moved her hands, in and out of different holos, turning her chair, to access all of the mounted guns from one spot.

Protoman and Rush dove from the ship, as the droids attacked the outside weaponry. The turrets took turns, firing on the pests, two at a time. He fired his own fusion discs, into the heads of the droids who weren't paying him any attention. A small group headed toward him. He deployed his baton and took accurate swings at the beasts on the right, while spraying explosive foam through the air, on his left. Three of the attackers were coated and dismantled, in the explosion, while the swings sent the other two plummeting to the earth.

Two of Tracy's holos blinked out of existence, as the droids ripped the gun to shreds. Tron still had eight more, which was more than enough for her. She continued turning the forces to dust, as she watched her brother outmaneuver and punish the enemy.

The ranks were thinning as Protoman chased down the remaining gargoyles. Pulling them to him magnetically, he swung the baton like a bat, smashing their heads. Rush turned, on a dime, to head back toward the tower, when they both stopped, in shock. "Holy shit!" Scott yelled, "Tron, Light, get the hell out of there, now!"

The remaining holos went away, as soon as she got the comms. The ship was smashed, from below, sending her off her feet, then hard to the floor. Tracy ran to the cockpit, trying to keep her balance, as Dr. Light accelerated and maneuvered, wildly. "What the hell is going on!?" She asked. But looking out her view-port, the question was answered.

The Draken was assaulting the ship, ferociously. It was only a third of the size of The Phantom, but three times the size of Tron's Mech suit. "There's no way Scott can take that thing on." She told Light. "You gotta get the ship above it."

"Tracy, you can't go out there." He said, as if reading her mind.

"It's the only chance we have. Besides, you always told stories of how Wily brought it down, alone. In an older-model suit, no less." She responded.

"Yes, but all Curtis had to do, was plug a box into it. You are going to have to actually _kill_ the dragon." He corrected her.

"We don't have a choice." She said, running to the Engineering Bay.

After a few minutes, she came over the comms, "Alright, Preston, open the Loading Bay Ramp."

Tron, what the hell are you doing?" Protoman questioned, as the ramp came down.

"I got this, just head for the tower." Tron said, jumping down onto the belly of the beast. The Mech's left hand ejected talons, and dug them into the metal scales. The Draken let go of the ship, and began clawing at the suit. The Mech's right hand deflected the slashes, easily. The monster turned right-side up, dangling her miles above the ground, below. Tron began to climb up, to the dragon's back, digging the suits claws in, deep, with each grab.

Turning it's head, it began to spit a relentless stream of fire, upon her. The left hand came up, deploying a large, silver, shield, protecting her from the flames. The beast stopped the inferno, shaking it's head, and letting out a loud screech. Tron, holding onto it's back, transformed one of the suit's hands into a rotating machine gun, spraying bolts at the dragon's flailing head. She saw Scott fly by, touching his EMP emitter. He assisted, by lobbing several crash bombs at their flying foe. It went to slap them away, but they latched onto it's palm, removing it's claw entirely.

The beast rewarded him, by opening it's mouth, and spaying bolts of lightning in his direction. The electricity sent him spinning out of sight, toward the sunrise.

Tron switched out the gun, for a large circular saw, cutting at the spine of the Draken. It quickly banked hard, to the right, almost throwing her off. The G-forces threatened to rip her apart, as the dragon circled on it's side. Her harnesses succumbed to the pressure, snapping free, throwing her body from the Mech, into the morning sky.

With the wind at her back, she watched the Draken and The Phantom shrink smaller. She closed her eyes, taking in the floating sensation. Tracy regretted nothing, her and her brother had a good run. _The Infamous Bonnes, killed by a dragon_, she thought. Had a cool ring to it. She smiled, to embrace the end.

Rush lowered velocity, as Protoman put out his arms, grabbing his little sister. "At least try and stay alive." He said, smiling. Then it faded. "Light shook the Draken for a moment, they're gonna have to win this one, Tron. We're out of options."

Back in the Loading Bay, Tron cried as she stood at the open hatch. It ripped her apart having to make the command.

"We're coming back around, in a second." Scott said, looking to her, "Tron, I hate this, too. But we're gonna die otherwise."

The tears streamed, heavily, down her cheeks, as she nodded.

"Okay, we're almost over it. Now!" He said.

She punched the keys, on her wrist and, immediately, sat on the floor, with her knees to her chest. She sobbed as the thousands of servbots filed out the hatch. Some stopped and waved, smiling. Others gave an exaggerated salute and dove out, valiantly. She felt like she was betraying her own children, sending them, blindly, to their death. The last one tripped, hitting his head. "Goodbye, Alex." Scott said, quietly, as his emotions tore at his "heart".

He sat down, putting his arms around her, as the servbots covered the Draken, entirely. Like a swarm of fire ants, they drilled, torched, and dug into the beasts scales, falling to the ground. They heard the explosion, below, when the dragon hit. Tron composed herself and whispered, "Let's get you to the tower, now."

Scott nodded, silently.


	13. When Worlds Collide

Chapter 13

Captain Miller opened the door to the Command Center Lounge. The sudden rattle of heavy machine gun fire made her jump. The alarms sounded, as she ran to the window, seeing flocks of gargoyle droids swarming a large ship.

"Shit." She muttered, switching out her bow for pistols.

The doors swung open, into the long corridor, as Miller watched the panels open, along the walls. Turrets descended from the ceiling, as she immediately regretted her decision. Reaching back, she realized the door had bolted itself, behind her. Units of security droids marched out of the openings, targeting her.

Miller let out an exasperated sigh, putting her guns away, and grabbing two grenades. They rolled across the floor, as she dropped to one knee, yanking the handle of a deploy-able plasma shield, from her vest. When the metal hit the floor, the opaque, light green, barrier jumped up. It deflecting the storm of fusion bolts and debris from the destroyed machines.

Handgun in one hand, and a combat knife in the other, she picked off the ranks in the back. Droids approaching her tiny haven, were met with her blade, through their skulls. Still shooting at her attackers, she sheathed the knife, pulling another grenade. She yanked the pin, counting in her head, and tossing the explosive airborne, blowing the closest automated turret to the floor. The remaining three didn't let up, abusing her shield. She was running out of time, and options.

Pulling the silver, six inch, cylinder from her belt, twisting the ends, and pulling it apart. The heat-laser sizzled, glowing red, in her face. She thought to herself, _Jennings, if you're up there, I want you know that, if this thing doesn't work, I'm kicking your ass in a few minutes._ The ends of the cylinders spun, as shot tossed it to the ceiling. When it hit, it attached, magnetically, and zipped to the other end of the hall, severing the guns, dropping them to the floor.

The firing had stopped, just as her shield fell. Miller ran down the corridor, knifing the stragglers, while dodging the fusion rounds.

She heard a loud, monstrous, screech from outside, as she opened the doors to the Command Center. Miller gunned down the two security droids, that protected Wily. She trained her guns on the former king.

"Get your fucking hands up, now." She ordered.

"You're making a _huge_ mistake, Captain." He said, raising his hands.

"We aren't here to kill you, dumb ass." Miller said, "That would be _your_ men." She motioned toward the console, "Now, _slowly_, open the Atlas Access."

"I can't do that." He said, through his teeth.

"Goddammit, Wily! We don't have time for this!" She yelled, "Your General is in the building, _right now_, so shut down the androids, before he gets his hands on the Card!"

He lowered his hands, taking in the information that he had just received. "You people don't know anything. My machines are trying to kill me," he stated, "don't you think, that if I could shut them down, I would have done so by now?"

Miller froze, in the realization. "What?" She asked, quietly.

"_I, can't._" He said plainly. "The Atlas Card was destroyed, years ago, and my access was stripped from the programming." He shook his head, "I've been using it as a bluff, to keep my machines in check, and to keep people from killing me."

She lowered the gun. "So Guts found out." She finished. "We need to destroy this console, before he can get to it." She said, pulling the explosives from her vest.

He stopped her as she approached. "That won't do any good. He doesn't need a console to activate the Directive."

She pulled a small data drive, from her pocket, walking over to him. "Then upload all of your files, and we leave."

He scoffed. "Go fuck yourself. You think I'll just, willingly, come be your prisoner?" He chuckled.

She pointed the gun at his face, "Listen, I'm giving you a chance to help stop what is about to come, which is _your_ fault, by the way. It's the least you can do. Get your data, and work with us, as an ally, as much as that disgusts me." There was a loud explosion outside, "Or you can be hunted, like a dog, by your own creations."

He nodded and looked down, "Fine. I'll help you." He pointed to the console, "The authorization for file transfer is 3-1-16-3-15-13."

She began entering the numbers, "How do you remember that?" She asked, smirking.

"Letter association. An old company I used to supply to." He responded.

"They must have rea..." She began, until a blade pierced the small of her back. In a state of shock, she was grabbed from behind, as the knife stabbed her, four more times. She fell to the floor, hearing a voice, groggily.

"Miller!" Megaman screamed, bursting through the doors. He opened fire on Wily, who was making a mad dash, to the roof access stairs.

Running to Miller's side, she pointed to the stairs, struggling to move. "K..K..Kill, that..fucker." She muttered, bleeding, profusely.

When he opened the door to the roof, Wily was running for a small aircraft. He shot a bolt to his leg, causing him to fall, screaming. He walked past Wily, who was laying on the roof, writhing in pain. (_Grey and Red_) He melted the booster housing on the escape vehicle, disabling it.

Megaman, slowly, turned to Wily, (_Grey and Orange_) as he produced a katana, and pulling him to his knees. "The world has had enough of your shit." He said drawing back the sword.

In a heartbeat, he was smashed from the side, and sent tumbling across the roof. "You can't kill him, Alex!" Protoman said, yellow scarf blowing in the wind. "No matter how much we hate it, we need him."

Wily laughed, as Scott pulled him to his feet. He went to drive the bloody knife into the android's throat, but it was caught easily, and his arm twisted behind his back. He was roughly being escorted to the edge of the roof, where The Phantom waited to load him.

Megaman charged, knocking Proto and Wily down. He landed two punches to Scott's face, before being thrown off.

The two stood up. "Okay, Alex." Protoman said, ejecting his baton, "Hard way, it is." Megaman rushed him, sword in hand, swinging for killing blows. In defensive stance, he parried them quickly, delivering a hard back swing to his rival's elbow. But Megaman was quick to run the blade across his ribs, as he turned.

Wily crawled away from the battling androids, back toward the small ship. He pulled himself up, grabbing the crowbar out of the back hatch. He fell back down, dragging himself for the door.

Megaman ducked a horizontal swing, and lunged his blade upward, at Protoman's gut. The android grabbed the tip and brought his shield down, snapping the sword in two. It was obvious, that he had been the one who had killed Quickman, with this display of speed. (_Grey and Red_) He blasted a close-range flame, scorching his opponent's nanosuit, before he moved five feet away.

"Shit, Alex!" Scott yelled, "I promised Preston that I wouldn't kill you. How about some mutual courtesy?"

Megaman stopped, confused. "You're lying! Guts had all of my people killed!"

"Guts had your people _attacked_, But me and Tron got them out! They're with us." Scott responded.

Megaman shook his head, slowly, "It makes me sick, the lies you will spit out, _for power_!" He yelled.

Before he could contact Tron, Megaman was already charging him. He blasted a cloud of black dust, and moved away. His adversary scanned the darkness, after missing the blow.

When Alex finally located his target, he was emerging from his left, airborne and delivering a vicious punch, across his face. Megaman rolled out of the cloud, pulling himself to his feet. Protoman followed, holding his hilt.

"I can't understand what you must feel. But you need to listen to me." Scott said.

(_Grey and Orange_) Megaman fired a volley of bladed stars, as he ran, shoulder-first, into his gut. Driving Proto to the ground, he rained down a flurry of punches to his face and head. His adversary reached up, grabbing him, and driving his helmet into Megaman's nose. He dismounted, sensors screaming, when Scott jumped to his feet. He kicked his leg out from under him, now putting Alex on his back, and began kicking him, repeatedly, to his ribs and sternum. They had both become like vicious animals, filled with rage.

Wily pulled himself up on the door, and began bashing at the latch, while the androids tore each other apart. It took almost everything out of him, to pry the opening. He pulled with everything he had, and felt a sense of victory, as the door swung free. His smile was quickly extinguished, as he found himself staring down the hollow barrel of a fusion pistol, held by a silver, metal-clad, hand. Lana Miller was pale, and fading fast. But she still had enough left in her to squeeze the trigger, accenting the morning sky, with the brains and skull of Curtis Wily, as they both collapsed to the ground.

Megaman and Protoman were bashing each others' brains in, when the shot rang out. They quickly ran to the door, to see Miller laying unconscious, and Wily beside her, minus the back of his head. Megaman dropped to Miller's side, lifting her head. "There's...no Atlas...all lies." She said weakly.

"Tron, bring the medical gear! Hurry!" Protoman panicked, over the comms.

Megaman, still holding the Captain, slowly shook his head as Dr. Light and Tron approached, with first aid. They all moved slowly, as he carried her body into The Phantom. He laid it in the Infirmary's casualty box, sealing the lid. Tracy and Light looked on, tears streaming their face, as Alex and Scott stood silently, grieving.

A short time later, they all returned to the rooftop, to incinerate Wily's body, unceremoniously. They stood leaving the ashes in a pile with the dirt. Looking in the distance they could see Gutsman's personal ship, flying into the horizon.

"He must have gotten what he came for." Tracy stated. She looked to the others, "So where do we go from here?"

"Now that we know there is no Atlas Card, we find a way to dig into Wily's programs." Light said, holding the data stick, from Miller's pocket.

"With enough time and persistence, Tron can get us access to all of his files." Scott said. "There may still be a way to stop Guts, we just have to put our heads together." He extended his hand to Megaman, "Truce?"

Megaman nodded, accepting the sentiment, "Truce." He stated. "Guts has been unstoppable to this point, I think it's time we end this reign."

The four made their way back into the ship. Megatropolis was about to witness Hell on Earth, but they would be it's heroes. Not an army, not a revolution, just two humans, two androids, and a "sort of" dog.


	14. Zero Dark

Epilogue

Gutsman pried open the secret panel, in Wily's private office. The gunfire and alarms blared around the compound, he hated having to rush his endgame, but his list wasn't being thinned out, as quickly as he had hoped. _No matter_, he thought, as he walked into the small alcove. They could be dealt with, later.

Prying back another panel, he was bathed in a green glow. His Heads Up Display, still blinking _"Directive Zero: 98%"_, as it did for thirteen years now, resumed it's task shortly after pulling the wires from the compressor, mounted in the wall. The room went dark, as he laughed, softly.

_**Directive Zero:** Initialization Complete_

_**Primary Android Protocol: **Updated_

Guts smiled in the dark closet. "Hail to the King." He whispered to himself.


End file.
